The Boy with the wolf eyes
by Ryubarra
Summary: when young hiroshi dies he is thrown into a world of hollows, ghosts, and wolf men? He quickly adapts and makes friends and finds love. YAOI, LEMONS, AND FURRY, DON'T READ IF YOU ARE NOT A FAN
1. How it started

**IN NO WAY DO I OWN THE IDEAS FOR BLEACH! I CLAIM NO RIGHT TO THE CHARACTERS OR ANYTHING ELSE! THE ONLY THINGS I OWN ARE HIROSHI AND EIJI! ABSOLUTELY NOTHING ELSE!**

The last thing that happened to me while I was alive happened when my family and I were taking a car trip, we were on our way to the airport near Karakura Town. It was the middle of the night and my parents were both exhausted; and when they rounded a corner a jet black car went speeding by and my mom swerved to avoid hitting the moron who ran a stop sign. We spun out of control and were skidding to a light pole at fifty miles an hour; I threw my body between my brother and the window right as we hit the light pole, the car caved in around the shape of the light pole as shattered glass assaulted my face and torso. With my eyes closed I screamed in pain as the shards penetrated my flesh and the impact crushed my ribs.

"HIROSHI!" my mother screamed.

That is when I died.

I opened my eyes and was shocked to find myself standing outside the wreckage of the destroyed rental car. I walked forward as if I was in a dream and saw the carnage inside just as the faint wail of an ambulance could be heard. I walked around and was astounded at the amount of blood I saw _oh no someone has to be dead_ _for there to be this much blood_. I looked in through the shattered windows and saw with relief that my mom and dad were still breathing, but my mom, who was driving, had her face gashed up and was unconscious; my dad was little better with a huge sliver of glass protruding from his arm and with his glasses warped and twisted on his face, but he was still breathing which was a blessing all its own. I moved to the back windows and saw my two brothers and two sisters in the back with various extensive injuries, but my little brother, Eiji, was the only one conscious and there was a weird shapeless lump covered in blood and glass slumped across his lap; at first I thought it was a large dog or something and then I remembered that there wasn't a dog with us in the car. I looked at my little brother and saw tears running down his face as he started nudging our older brother awake and I could hear his voice filled with terror, "brother? Brother? Brother please wake up, I'm scared so please wake up." I watched in a sense of horror as my little brother his blond hair caked with blood (my blood I thought) kept on trying to rouse my unconscious older brother awake; and then he seemed to notice the husk slumped in his lap and then what he did next still haunts me. He screamed, but this was not a simple noise this was a cry that reflected the fear, sadness, and horror of someone who saw the life of one of the people he loved slip away, he screamed and screamed and screamed until eventually his voice started to crack with overuse.

"Eiji don't worry I'm here just look I am okay, that thing in your lap isn't me it is some sick joke or something" I said and then was shocked when he didn't even react. I raised my hand to touch him and froze; with my hand out in front of me I saw that it was slightly see-through with edges that blurred like a photograph where the person moves right as the picture is taken; a light tinkling noise came from below me and I looked down and gasped in horror as I saw a broken chain coming out of my chest, it didn't hurt and it looked as if it had always been there right on top of my shirt but when I pulled at it I saw that it wasn't just bound to my shirt it was stuck to my body as if someone had stitched it there while I was not looking. Then on a hunch I looked into the car's smashed rear view mirror and saw _nothing_, at that moment it was my turn to scream; not a tortured scream like my brother's, but a scared scream like you would hear from a kid whose parents had left him alone at a park without knowing it leaving him scared and confused, and as I screamed tears sprang up without my knowledge and flowed down my face. I cried until the ambulance arrived and until my family was carted up and finally was calming down as the dragged out my body and covered it with a length of cloth.

**End of chapter1.**

I ran as fast as I could chasing the ambulances carrying my family away from me, but was not quick enough, just as I rounded a corner the vehicles were out of sight and their wailing sirens bounced off the walls making it impossible to figure out where they were heading to. I turned back around and returned to the wreckage as a coroner pulled up and the people picked up my limp body and carried it into the hearse.

I watched in shock as the hearse also disappeared around the corner and left me alone with the still smoking wreckage. I stood there for hours until the sun peeked up from the horizon and painted the sky a rose colored hue. Without me consciously doing so I started walking away from the sight of the wreck. _I am dead. . . . I am dead. . . . I know it as I know the sun is shining, but if I am dead what am I still doing here? Shouldn't I be in heaven or something like that? I was raised to believe when we die we go to purgatory to be judged and then we go to heaven or hell. Well standing around wondering about it won't do me any good, _so with those thoughts in mind I ran. I ran like I have never ran before I did so without running out of breath or feeling the familiar burn in my muscles telling me to stop, _well I guess being dead has an upside. I wonder if this means I don't have to eat anymore or use the bathroom either._ When I finally decided to stop running I noticed I was at the park where Eiji and I would play just to kill time. I went over to the swings and was about to sit down when I thought, _I'm dead so I probably won't be able to actually sit_. With that in mind I just sat down on the ground and closed my eyes to think.

My mind wandered throughout the day and when I finally could not take sitting down anymore I decided to walk around the block. I walked down the street and didn't even bother checking both ways _I'm already dead. What is the worst thing that can happen?_ I was in the middle of the lane when a car came speeding by, and I flinched but the car just kept going and went right through me without the driver seeming to notice the fact he just phased through a fifteen year old kid. I was freaked out as I discovered this new ability; and me being my fifteen year old curious self I decided to test it out, I went to a building wall and slowly raised my hand and applied a slow gentle pressure and then my hand slowly started to go through the wall. I yanked it out still startled by the fact I could do something like this.

I took this opportunity to distract myself from the still all too fresh memory of my gruesome death. I would run through people and walls and intentionally throw myself into the paths of oncoming cars. I walked through the park and even the animals did not notice as some random kid ran through the jungle gym and trees. I was sitting down and coming down from the euphoria of being intangible when I noticed a dog sitting a few feet away from me; unlike the other dogs and people this dog seemed to notice me, I say this because it was staring right at me, I stood up and walked and noticed that the dog moved its head and kept me in its line of view. I was a little confused at that and was about to approach the canine when its ears perked up and it turned its head to a sound that I could not hear; a low growl escaped its maw as it got up and sprinted toward whatever had gotten its attention. I watched it go and almost before my mind could react, my body was following the dog as fast as it could _this has been the only thing that could even sense my presence I am not going to let it get away from me without a fight_.

We reached a clearing and the dog stopped and checked the area for something I could not see. I stepped into the clearing and the dog turned with murder in its golden eyes; just as quickly as It turned around the look faded and the dog came over and started nudging at me and whining trying to get me to go back where we had come from. It had pushed me to the tree line when I heard a noise that to this day still chills me to the bone.

An ear piercing sound that was a mixture between a roar and a screech.

**End of chapter2.**

I froze when I heard the noise and looked back over my shoulder to see a huge bulk of flesh fall from the sky. It hit the ground and a dust cloud rose up around its feet and flew outward obscuring my view of it. I was just beginning to make it out when something shot through the slowly settling dust and pierced my shoulder right above where my heart would be if I was still alive. Instant pain went through my entire body as the thing dislodged itself from me, when it was completely out my body crumpled and I hit the ground.

The dust had finally settled and the one word that went through my mind was _demon._ The thing's skin was a disgusting infected purple color, it had a tail that ended in a spear point _that's what pierced my shoulder_, and it looked like a 20 foot tall version of a devil. It had two hands with five fingers each but the all ended in claws, the same could be said for its feet. In the center of its chest was a hole that went through its entire being, it did not look like a wound but more like that was how it was born, there was no bleeding and it was a perfect circle; but the overall worst thing was its face, there was nothing there but a mask and two pinholes of vicious red light that were focused on me. The mask looked like a cat's face but more like a skull with no details but for blue lines slicing up and down the sides, the teeth were huge incisors that slid together perfectly, showing that they were easily capable of ripping flesh and bone apart. It opened its mouth and a line of drool slid down its chin and fell to the ground. _This thing is going to eat me_, I had no doubts about it the look in its eyes and the drool coming down its face as it stared at me.

It started walking toward me just as the dog got between me and it and snarled at the beast making its way toward me. The demon brought up its hand and swatted the dog out of the way without any effort. It turned back towards me and it seemed to chuckle. I closed my eyes just as it was a few feet away from me. _I don't want to be eaten, please someone help me._

"ROAR, Tenken!" a deep voice shouted.

A huge blade sprung up out of nowhere and sliced the demon in half. It started to dissipate into the air and had the appearance of a thousand butterflies flying away from a disturbed tree. The blade pulled back and disappeared into the nothing it came from. I staggered to my feet and fell, so I decided to crawl and try to make my way to the dog. I was halfway there when a giant hand grabbed my shoulder. I panicked and flipped over to see if another demon had appeared, but instead of a demon I saw a man wearing a helmet that covered his entire face and gauntlets that did the same for his hands.

"Who are you?" I asked the man who was practically a giant.

"My name is Sajin Komamura. I am here to help you" a deep voice replied from inside the helmet. I recognized that voice as the same one who shouted right before the blade cut the demon in half.

"Were you the one who sent the blade that cut the demon in half" I asked

"Yes that was my blade Tenken." Sajin replied, "you should stop moving you are badly injured and moving is just making it worse so –"

"Is the dog dead?" I interrupted.

"What?" he asked in confusion.

"That dog over there" I said indicating the still form at the base of a tree "is he alright?"

"Oh you mean Goro!" he said as it sunk in, "don't worry about him he's tough, but you on the other hand are in pretty bad shape."

"Fine, if you say he is alright I believe you. So what now?" I ask as I became more and more aware of the pain coursing through my body.

"Now you close your eyes and let me treat your wounds." He said gently.

I did as I was told and closed my eyes. Almost immediately my shoulder felt better and the pain was starting to fade away; as the pain receded I did something I didn't even think possible for a dead person to do, I fell asleep.

**End of chapter3.**

I woke up when I heard people talking outside the room I was in.

"How did this happen?" a deep voice I recognized as Komamura's asked.

"I don't know for sure, but if I had to take a guess it has to do with the boy's reiryoku being what it is. Upon analysis we have figured out that his reiryoku is able to change and replicate other people's reiatsu." a kindly woman voice replied.

"So you are saying he sensed my reiatsu and basically copied it?" Komamura asked.

"In a nutshell yes that is what I am saying." The woman said in turn, "When you were healing him his body noticed your reiatsu and duplicated it to speed up the healing process. Now it is time for you to go and get some sleep you have been here for two days worrying over what has happened. I know you feel bad for what happened, but there is nothing you can do about it we have sent samples of his blood to captain Kurotsuchi at research and development for further study."

"Okay, but let me know when he wakes up I want to be here to explain what happened and apologize to him in person." Komamura said with anxiety heavy on his voice.

"You go home and get some rest and I will let you know, I promise."

"Thank you Unohona" Komamura said and left.

As the sound of his footsteps receded I sat up as the door opened and in came a woman with black hair, blue eyes, and a young pretty face.

"So you finally decided to wake up." the woman I could only assume was Unohona said.

"Yes, I just woke up." I said, "I don't mean to be rude or unfriendly, but who are you?"

"I am Captain Unohona, leader of the fourth division and head healer in soul society." The woman replied, "And don't concern yourself about that it is only natural to be curious and wary of a complete stranger."

"Soul Society. . . . Is that where I am?" I asked in confusion

"Yes, Soul Society is the place a soul goes once a person dies."

"Why didn't I come here the second I died then?"

"A soul needs the assistance of a shinigami to enter Soul Society." Unohona replied with a gentle smile on her face that let me know she understood what it was like for me at the moment.

"Shinigami?"

"A shinigami is a race of spiritual beings that act as enforcers and psychopomps who all share similar supernatural powers. They are souls with a high level of innate spiritual energy, recruited from the ranks of the residents and nobility of the Soul Society. Shinigami use their Zanpakutõ, supernatural swords that are the manifestation of their owners' power, to perform soul burials on pulses. Shinigami also use their Zanpakutõ as well as magic known as kidõ to fight their arch-enemies, the hollows."

"So that thing that attacked me back there was a hollow?"

"Correct."

"I do have one final question though." I said getting to the point I was trying to get to from the beginning, "What were you and Komamura talking about out in the hall, about the whole thing being wrong with me?"

She looked shocked and then her smile came back, but a little more hesitant this time. "You will have to wait for Captain Komamura to return for an answer to that question."

"Is there something wrong with me?" I asked with a hint of panic in my voice.

"No you will live and not be handicapped in anyway, but. . . . ."

"But I will have to wait for Captain Komamura to get here to learn the rest?" I asked finishing her sentence.

"Yes." She said, "But you are more than welcome to come out and walk around for a bit if you would like."

"I would like that, do you have a garden or some place outside? It's kind of stuffy in here and I would like an open space to think about all of this." I asked politely.

"Certainly, if you would just follow me I will gladly take you there."

We walked through the building and wound our way through it until we found ourselves at a peaceful garden. After excusing herself and telling me that if I needed anything to just ask someone Captain Unohona left me alone with my thoughts.

_So I am dead, I am in a place called Soul Society where people act like samurai and cut monsters in half, there is something wrong with me that I am not allowed to know until the guy who saved me from becoming a snack for a twenty foot monster shows up. Well I guess I can't complain about being bored._

I looked around me and noticed the scenery surrounding me: there were cherry blossom trees swaying in the wind, there was a small Koi fish pond in the center of the garden with an ornamental red bridge going over it, there was a stepping stone path leading back to the building where I was asleep for two days, there was also a large stone bench that I made myself comfortable on while waiting for Captain Komamura.

I occupied myself by trying to imagine what was he like under the helmet, was he ugly or one of those narcissists that thought he was to gorgeous for mortals to gaze upon. If that was the case what was with the gloves? With these thoughts in mind a smile formed on my lips as I imagined what would be under that helmet. When I grew bored with that I walked to the bridge and stared at the pond below. I was staring at the fish when something caught my attention; in the water I saw a boy about 15 who looked like me, but the eyes were golden like the dog who tried to stick up for me, the face had sharper angles and bones _no that's not it, my face is the same my eyes are just sharper,_ my mouth felt weird and I opened it to see what was up and gasped. My teeth were not like a regular human's but they looked like a dog's. I freaked out and assumed it was someone in the water mimicking me, but when I moved it moved, perfectly in synch with me, _this is my reflection_, I just stared and stared when something touching my hand distracted me.

I turned my head and saw a dog about the size of a lab with copper fur and strikingly gold eyes.

"You are the one who tried to help me when that hollow attacked." I said with a bit of confusion.

"WOOF"

I reached down and patted its head, "I guess I should thank you for that", I said with a thin smile on my lips. I squatted down and scratched him under the chin and behind the ear where all dogs had their sweet spots and was gifted with a low growl of pleasure.

"I see Goro has taken a liking to you." A voice said.

"Most dogs tend to like me, and I them." I replied moving my hands down to scratch his belly. I turned around to see who was talking to me when I saw Komamura standing next to me on the bridge. "Oh, hello Ko. . . . I mean Captain Komamura." I said correcting myself.

"I see that you have been informed about me." He said.

"Not really, but I did learn you are a Shinigami Captain and that giant sword that wiped the hollow from existence was your Zanpakutõ." I said remembering what I was told. Without really thinking about it I looked back in the pond to see my reflection _that thing is me, what happened?_

Following my gaze Komamura said, "I see you have noticed what has happened to you."

"It was kind of hard to miss." I said still in a bit of awe at my new appearance. "Captain Unohona said you could explain to me what happened."

"I guess I owe you that" Komamura said with a bit of sadness in his voice, "come over to the bench and sit down and I will tell you what happened."

"When the hollow attacked you it pierced your shoulder and went all the way through. I defeated the hollow just before it ate you. When I finally got to you, you were making your way to help Goro-"

"WOOF!"

He continued on as if nothing happened, "I placed my hand on your shoulder and you flipped around with panic in your eyes and that is when I got a good look at your wound. I saw what the hollow did to you and I knew I wouldn't be able to bring you here in time, so I used some medical kidõ to treat your wounds, but instead of just healing your wounds your whole body started to shift. I ceased treatment, but it was too late you were already changed. I brought you here immediately hoping for a way to help you get back to normal but so far there hasn't been any success in doing so. I am so sor-"

"Thank you", I interrupted.

"Wha-", he started.

"If it weren't for you I would not have survived, and for that I thank you" I said with a smile on my face.

"But I turned you into a monster." He protested.

"A monster? Hmmmm. . . I don't see it that way." I said casually.

At this he was startled.

"I always thought it would be cool to be like an animal, and it looks like I finally got my wish. Even if it was a bad thing what is this compared to being allowed to live another hour or day?" I said the smile on my face growing bigger with every word.

He remained silent throughout my entire rant. "I do have one question if it's true what you said about my body reacting to your treatment, what about you would cause this?" I said with my voice tinged with curiosity.

". . . ." he just sat there without moving

"Come on it's a fair question to ask." I said with a mild pout on my face.

"You're right" he sighed. He looked around to make sure that no one was around and very slowly he removed his helmet.

**End of chapter4**


	2. Preperation

I gasped as I saw what lay beneath Captain Komamura's helmet. There was not an ugly man with a butchered face; but in its place was a wolf's head with a light copper toned fur with a cream colored length starting from the bottom of his muzzle to the depths of his uniform hidden out of site, he looked me in the eyes for a second before he turned his head away and what I saw was the most beautiful set of golden eyes I had ever seen. Even though he looked like a beast he had a gentle air about him, as if he were a person who would never hurt another living creature if he could help it.

"This is what changed you into what you are now." Komamura said with a weariness that surprised me.

"Oh. . . ."

"Does this disgust you" Komamura said with sorrow in his voice.

I waited a minute before answering, "No. No it doesn't."

He looked at me with a hard glare, "Have you no sense?"

I was a little scared because now he pulled his lips back from his teeth in a snarl. "That is for you to decide; besides I don't see anything wrong with you. You are a shinigami with a humanoid wolf body. Are there not any other people who are different?"

He seemed to think about it then let out a sigh and just shook his head. He then changed the subject. "You do know that you cannot stay here right?"

"I know, but I don't really know where I am supposed to go." I said, "Do you know where I could go?"

"Well you should probably go to Rukongai, but. . . ." he broke off.

"But what?" I asked in confusion.

"You could go to Shinigami Academy and train to become a shinigami. That would probably be best." He said. I noticed he cringed when he mentioned Rukongai.

"Is there something wrong with Rukongai?" I asked wondering what could make a man who was probably eight feet of solid muscle afraid.

"Not unless you are like me." He said.

"Do I count as being like you?" I asked indicating my teeth and eyes.

"If you can hide your eyes and keep your mouth closed I doubt they will notice you." Komamura said after thinking for a bit.

I sat there for a while thinking about my options. _I could go to Rukongai and live a fairly normal existence with the only threat to my life being getting someone's way, or I could go to the Shinigami Academy and become strong and I might be able to help more people so that no one has to deal with the same hollow incident I did. I could become powerful and do things most people only imagine doing. Unohona said only certain people could become shinigami and I have the opportunity to do it._ I sat there for one more minute before deciding. "I want to go to the academy."

"Very well then, once you have finished healing I will take you there myself." Komamura said in response, I could not tell if he was upset or not. "One more thing. What is your name?"

I smiled "Hiroshi, Hiroshi Osamu."

**End of chapter5**

I was walking down a cobblestone street beside Captain Komamura, who was back in his helmet, heading toward Shinigami Academy; it was a peaceful pleasant day as we made our way. A few people would look over and give Captain Komamura a respectful bow and a pleasant dip of the head to me. We were walking through a small shopping area when we found a man beating a little kid with a length of wood. I stopped as did Komamura.

I started walking over and caught the man's arm as he was about to hit the kid again, "That's enough" I said with anger easily heard in my voice. The man turned with an arrogant smirk on his face as he heard a teenager get onto him.

"Who the fuck do you. . ." he broke off as he saw my eyes, "What the hell?"

Realizing he was talking about my eyes I remembered my teeth and went with it. I smiled savagely at him, "Like I said before, that's enough let the boy go." As the man faltered the kid took the chance and got out of there.

"Listen here you little shit I don't know who you think you are, but you are insane if you think I am going to let you get away with interfering in business that had nothing to do with you." The man said as he pulled a knife from his robes.

"Do you truly think that a wise thing to do?" I asked. The man let out a yell and lunged out at me. I ducked and shot my leg out into his gut, "You need to calm down and collect your thoughts, until then I will hold onto this." I said picking up the knife he dropped.

We went back on our way after I dropped the knife into a well. "That is how you will make enemies here." Komamura said.

"I don't care, the bastard deserved it." I said while still fuming over the incident. "Oh and another reason I like the transformation, I can scare people without actually needing to hurt them." I ended with a light smile on my face.

"Well as long as you find a bright side I guess it could be worse." Komamura said somberly.

We walked in silence for a while until the academy came into sight.

"Captain Komamura how long does it take to graduate from the academy?" I asked

"That depends on the person and how thorough they are with their studies" He said with a thoughtful look, "On average it takes a person about ten years at the academy."

"Oh" I said starting to feel a little sick.

Komamura must have noticed it because he said, "With your abilities you might be able to get it done quicker and the way you handled the thug, and this place should be no problem for you."

We had arrived at the academy and this is where Komamura was supposed to leave. "Captain Komamura?" I asked tentatively.

"Yes?" he said looking at me.

I pulled a string a small mirror attached to it out of my pocket and placed it into his hand, "I want you to have this" I say, "for two reasons; first so you remember me until I get out of here, and two so that you can look at it and one day realized you are not a disgusting monster."

He seemed stunned but still closed his hand around it.

"well I believe this is where I have to go, see you when I get out in a couple of years" I say this trying to sound happy and carefree but the truth is I am still scared shitless about doing this. Komamura nodded and turned around and walked away without a word.

_Don't be a baby you will see him again._ I think as a tear runs down my cheek, _little does he know the only reason I am doing this is so I can still see him, even if it is just in passing by. Great leave it to me to fall in love with a guy I met a week ago._ I turn around and march up the steps toward the academy determined to get through this.


	3. The battle of tears

"HIROSHI!" the instructor finally yelled after failing to rouse the sleeping boy.

I jumped and looked around in a daze, "yes, sir?" I said in embarrassment as I realized I had fallen asleep in kidõ class yet again.

"Please perform hadõ 31 as a demonstration to the class." The instructor said while rolling his eyes.

"Okay" I mumbled as I got up and stretched out before approaching the target. I took a breath and got into my stance. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Inferno and pandemonium, the sea barrier surges, march on to the south! Hadõ, 31 Shakkahõ. A sphere of red light formed in my hand and fired at the target like a bullet out of a gun. Upon impact the sphere exploded and left the target a pile of ash.

"Very good Hiroshi, you may take your seat and this time stay awake." The instructor said.

"Yes sir, it won't happen again" I said.

"I somehow doubt that." My instructor said with a humorous smile on his face.

As we were dismissed the instructor pulled me aside to talk. "Hiroshi" he started, "we need to talk."

I cut him off, "If this is about my falling asleep again I swear I will work on it!"

"DON'T INTERRUPT", he yelled; he then lowered his voice down to normal, "I am recommending you for a new program that is still experimental, but if you pass you will be allowed to graduate without taking the official exam. This choice is yours to make, so take the time you need and let me know; I have already talked to your other instructors and they also have recommended you for the program. When you reach an answer let me know."

"I don't need the time to think I already have my answer, I want to do the program." I said without hesitation.

The instructor smiled, "I knew you would say that." He handed me a pass telling me the details of the program, and ways to prepare for it. "One last thing Hiroshi, you can't tell anyone it would cause bickering between the other students who feel that they should be chosen, but are not yet at that level. You have been here three years, and you are already stronger than almost all of the others students here. The tenth year students here would get jealous that someone as young as you would be able to surpass them." He finished.

"No problem, in case you forgot most people either don't like me because of my eyes and teeth, or they are afraid of me because of my eyes and teeth." I say only half joking. _Komamura was right people really don't like other people who are different_. I let out a sigh.

"Well I have taken enough of your time you should go before people start asking questions." He said then added, "I hope I never have to put up with you sleeping in my class again." At the last words he smiled and started to laugh.

"I don't know my seat was pretty comfortable, well don't worry that seat will remain empty until the next person fills it I promise." With those last words between us I left.

I started walking down the hall and ran into Shinta, the school bully with an IQ of twenty and the combat skills of a three year old with a stick yet still managed to get off with acting like the best fighter at the school._ People just don't want to mess with him because he is a noble and can probably get them in trouble, and he knows it. _I attempted to turn the other way when I heard a nasal voice starting to call out to me.

"Hiroshi, wait up you stupid piece of shit" Shinta called.

_Damn it, I was so close to my room._ "What do you want Shinta?" I asked wearily.

"What are you upset about this is the highlight of your day and you know it. A peasant such as you with those teeth and eyes should be ecstatic to take the chance to talk to a high class noble like me." He said with an arrogance that was almost tangible.

"Oh hooray for me, I get to put up with a snob from a rich family while he throws half baked overused insults at anyone who happens to walk by." I say irritably.

"You know what? I am tired of your shitty attitude kid, just because you are in the class with the big kids like me does not make you our equals." He said with anger showing up in his fat face.

I decided I had enough and I lashed out, "YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TIRED OF YOUR 'I AM HOLIER THAN THOU' ACT, IF YOU SPENT HALF AS MUCH TIME WORKING ON YOUR SWORDSMANSHIP AND KIDO AS YOU DO GOING AROUND AND BRAGGING ABOUT HOW GREAT YOU SUPPOSEDLY ARE THEN YOU MIGHT ACTUALLY BE CAPABLE OF DOING SOMETHING!" I raged and then I calmed down, "if you would actually do that maybe you would be worth that noble blood in your veins. I know plenty of 'peasant trash' who could kick your ass, but the only reason they don't is because your family would have them expelled from here. Until you are actually ready to do something you are not worth my time or anyone else's." I say then turn around and head to the garden I use for meditation.

"Don't walk away from me you little piece of shit!" Shinta yelled.

I ignored him and kept on my way and turned a corner with him still yelling after me.

I made it to the garden and sat down on a bench and opened my lunch and started to snack on an apple before my next class started. We were going to duel the other people in our class using whatever means we had at our disposal, unfortunately I had Shinta in that class and he would smart off every two seconds and still refuse to duel saying no one was worth of such an honor. I finished my apple and started stretching and warming up for the matches. I was halfway done when the announcement for the next class came. I stood up picked up my apple core and buried it by the roots of a tree. _There is no need to make a mess and at least this way everything is used and nothing is wasted._ I got the rest of my stuff washed my hands and made my way to the arena where today's class was supposed to take place.

The Arena was like a coliseum, with stone bleachers and everything. I was one of the last people there and found myself a secluded place to sit down until my turn was up. In the row in front of me I heard a person whine about how they didn't get enough to eat, at that moment my stomach growled and my hand went to my bag and I pulled out my lunch I looked at it and decided I wasn't that hungry and walked down to the people in front of me who stopped their conversation short.

"Here you can have my lunch, I already ate; and don't worry I haven't touched any of the food in here" I said offering them my lunch.

One of them sneered and said, "as if we would eat dog food freak."

The other scolded her friend and politely said, "No thank you we are not hungry."

I shrugged my shoulders and when they turned around I sat my lunch down next to them and made my way back to my spot on the bleachers. I smiled when I saw the one who sneered at me reach over and start eating the food, he saw me looking at him and his face went red. I turned my head and pretended I hadn't noticed.

"Alright everyone quiet down!" The person in charge yelled. "Today you will all duel one of your peers here today, this is the first time doing this; everything you learned independently will be put to the test today. There are two options you can choose who you want to fight or people will be assigned to you."

We ended up being assigned to who we were going to fight by number. I went down to get my number and as I came into view the instructor's fill in flinched as she saw my eyes and teeth, apparently other people noticed this too and soon the whole arena was filled with laughter the person caught my eye and sent me an apologetic glance to which I just shrugged and stood off from the crowd while everyone else was assigned their numbers. Soon the whole place was filled with the noise of people calling out their numbers looking for the person with the match; I looked down and read my number which was 1. I looked around and caught Shinta's gaze, I rolled my eyes and held up my number card he smiled cruelly and held up his own, _shit,_ we were duel partners.

I walked over to him and we stood side by side like we were instructed to do.

"I am going to make you pay for what you did in the hall." He threatened.

I just ignored him and waited for further instruction. I waited for about ten minutes, by then everyone had found their partner. The instructor looked around at everyone to make sure and then proceeded with the instructions.

"You will fight the person with the same number as you, you are allowed to use any form of fighting you want, there is no such thing as fighting dirty, you are NOT allowed to kill someone for any reason, and finally I do not give a shit if you are a noble or not you will earn your grade based on skill. We will go in chronological order from one to two to three and so on. You will have ten minutes to prepare yourselves for your fight before each match. Let the preparations for round one begin!"

I walked to the shade under a tree and closed my eyes. Two people walked up to me and sat down in front of me, I opened one of my eyes to see who they were, to my surprise it was the two people I had given my lunch to. They just looked at me for a while and then one of them said, "Are you the guy who mouthed off to Shinta?" _Great since this is the thing I need right now, but they don't look angry I'll see what they want. _I was about to say something when I noticed my lunchbox.

"So how did the dog food taste?" I asked.

The guy's face turned into the equivalent of a brown haired tomato. "I'm sorry about that, I was just in a bad mood and thought it would be funny to be an ass."

"Well," I said a smile forming on my lips, "I will have to deduct points for originality from your final score." At the end I was softly chuckling at my own joke. "Don't worry, I'm not mad I get that crap all the time and after a while you learn to take it with a sense of humor."

They both just stared at me with blank looks. Then the girl burst out laughing clutching her sides in pain. I shot the boy a questioning look and he explained, "On the way over here I was coming to apologize for the way I spoke to you and then I saw how calmly you walked away and then I thought 'oh shit this guy is going to kill me'; so then Izumi started to crack jokes about all the different ways you were going to mangle me." He said looking sheepish.

I tried to keep a straight voice, but then I started laughing too. People turned to look to see who had made the anti-social person laugh so loudly. I finally was able to quiet down at the same time the girl did.

"Don't worry I don't do that, well at least not over something so stupid, anyway I'm happy you enjoyed the lunch." I said with laughter still coloring my voice.

"Round One is about to begin Fighters come to the center everyone else go to the bleachers." The instructor yelled.

"Well looks like my time has come, and no hard feelings by the way." I say standing up and offering my hand.

"Thank you, and once again sorry" the boy said shaking my hand.

"Good luck" they both said simultaneously.

Shinta and I took our spots at the center of the arena as everyone else filled up the bleachers. The instructor started the countdown.

"3. . .2. . . ." the instructor never got to one because at that moment Shinta drew his sword and slashed at me. I jumped out of the way just in time to miss getting sliced in half. I got my footing as Shinta rushed me with an onslaught of strikes and slashes all of which I were able to avoid. I was out of reach wondering how long this would last and if this was really all he had. I was about to say so when he vanished, he had his mouth right next to my ear as he said "You peasant trash you are nowhere near my level of skill." I turned to face him just as he vanished again. When he vanished from sight I smiled and slashed behind me just as Shinta came at me, I cut him across the arm and a line of blood sprang up. Shinta cried out in pain, much to my satisfaction. I raised my hand and held it level with his face.

"Hadõ 1, Shõ!" I yelled out.

Shinta was thrown back as an invisible force slammed into him with the force of a car. He flew through the air and planted his feet against a wall and used it to jump at me. I got into stance and, "Hadõ, 31 Shakkahõ!" The red ball of fire connected with Shinta dead on and slammed him into the ground. A feeling welled up in me that started to take over, a part of me that let out all of my pain and hurt and released it all at him. I took the opportunity to jump into the air and cast. "Disintegrate, you black dog of Rondanini! Look upon yourself with horror and then claw out your own throat. Bakudõ 9, Geki!" a red light surrounded Shinta and he became paralyzed lying flat on his back. "Time to finish this!" I yelled letting all of my frustrations break through me, "You have made my life a living hell, and for WHAT! Is it because of the way I look, it doesn't matter, you are done. "Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle! Hadõ 63, Raikõhõ!" A blast of pure electricity shot down aiming right for Shinta with enough force to turn him into dust to be blown away in the wind.

"Bakudõ 81, DankŪ!" I translucent barrier shielded Shinta from the blast, but burned a crater into the ground all around it.

I started falling toward him, completely lost in frenzy with tears streaming down my cheeks; I had my sword pointed directly at his heart, he was still paralyzed and could only watch in horror as me and my blade came down hurtling toward him.

"Bakudõ 37, Tsuriboshi!" I large blue- white net spread out below me and ensnared me before I impaled Shinta. I was locked in place in mid air. I struggled and thrashed screaming like an animal trapped in a cage, trying to break free. Realizing the struggle was futile I turned around and faced Shinta, "Why? Why couldn't you just leave me alone and let me go on with my life?" The tears were burning hot tracks down my face, "You just kept pushing and pushing, why me? I never did shit to you!" I was gasping for air and shuddering from all the stress that was put on my body. "I just wanted to get through this so I could go back to see someone but you couldn't let me do that could you?"

He just looked at me and then smirked, "Because you are peasant trash that must be thrown away before you make the rest of us sick."

The final word made something inside of me snap and I started screaming and thrashing, my spiritual pressure went through the roof and the net holding me away from him ripped itself apart. I plunged down to him and landed on top of him with enough force to break a rib or two. I dropped my sword and beat him with my fists until people started pulling me off of him. I was still crying as the two people who I talked to earlier started talking, "Wow that kid is fucked up" " I knew he was crazy" "No doubt Shinta deserved this, but did you see the guy?"

I saw all of their faces through my tears and I saw faces that ranged from disgust and fear, to bewilderment and respect. I also saw the instructor and I saw that her face was ashen and she looked at me like a monster that had escaped its cage. There was an old man with a captain's haori, and as I looked closer I saw that it was the Captain-commander Yamamoto; he looked at me with a look of curiosity, he was wondering how a student who was not even a shinigami could know and perform such a high level kidõ and still have the energy to take down a Tsuriboshi. I also realized that he was the one who kept me from killing Shinta. I hiccupped a few times before I was finally able to get the words out of my lips, "Thank you, thank you for not letting me kill him. I am so sorry I just. . . I just. . . I am so sorry!" I yelled the last bit loud enough for everyone to turn to look at me. The captain nodded his head once and turned to go look after Shinta to make sure he was going to be okay.

"Call Captain Unohona", was the last thing I heard before being taken out of earshot.


	4. The trial

I was wringing my hands in nervousness; this was going to be the day that I was supposed to go to the captains' chamber and face a trial for what I did to Shinta, this was not something that would require central 46, but the way I acted was not something that could be ignored either. At least that is what I thought, I wasn't told anything except to come here; I was escorted by the instructor who was in charge of overseeing the exam, she was also asked to be present during the "hearing" to add a witness testimony. _No fair she was actually allowed to know what this was about, while I am left in the dark about the whole thing._ We were waiting outside when she asked, "Where did you learn that kidõ?"

"What? . . . Oh you mean Raikõhõ." I said as it dawned on me. "I don't have anything to distract me and no friends to hang out with, so whenever I felt lonely I would go to the library and read and study. I laughed without mirth, eventually the librarian knew me so well that he let me know where to find books for my studies. He knew I was fascinated by kidõ and that it captivated me to know end so he would lend me entire books filled with them. I would find a quiet place outside of Rukongai and I would train there without rest, sometimes I would be late to class and that was the main reason I was always asleep." I finished, admitting my secret felt like a weight of my chest.

"So is that how you were able to stay in the advanced classes, and be at the top of your kidõ class without trouble?" She asked as it dawned on her.

"Yes, I have read Bakudõ spells up to number 88 and hadõ spells up to 68; can I tell you something though? I never practiced Raikõhõ before. That was my first time using it.

Her eyes widened in surprised, "You're kidding me." She looked into my eyes and something in there made her say, "Oh my God you are serious." I nodded my head. "Wow those kids were right. . ." she saw the hurt look on my face and rushed to finish her sentence, "I mean about you being crazy weird, that's not what I meant, I mean powerful. You are probably the only person ever in academy history to do something that complex and still have the energy to break through a high level kidõ like Tsuriboshi." She finished.

A white haired man came out and told us we could go in now. The Instructor was making her way in when I grabbed her sleeve and stopped her, "Can I ask you for a favor?" when she looked at me with a guarded glance I quickly finished, "I wanted to know if you could tie this around my eyes so I don't have to look at all those people." I said fishing out a black strip of cloth from my pocket.

She smiled at me and sighed, "It's kind of funny; you can do something that even some shinigami can do and you are afraid to walk into a room with a few people." She said as she took the cloth and tied it around my eyes.

"It's because of the things I did that I am here, wouldn't you be scared?" I say my voice shaking a bit.

"I guess I would" she said with a small chuckle and finished the blindfold.

We were lead into the captains' chambers, with me gently holding the instructor's robe. When she stopped and stepped away I stood where I stopped and waited for the hammer to drop. I stood there feeling all the eyes staring at me, judging me.

"Captain-commander Yamamoto may I ask what is going on here?" a voice said, it sounded rather young probably around thirteen years old and definitely male.

"Shut up you insolent brat, you wait and I am sure we will find out." A voice said, this voice was male and slightly nasal and when listening to it all the hairs on the back of my neck stood up; I had no idea why, but I knew if I was ever alone with this man he would rip me apart limb from limb. I shuddered.

"Hey look Kurotsuchi, just hearing your voice is enough to make the kid shudder; can't say I blame him though", he ended with a bellow of laughter. This voice was also male, but he sounded bored and as if he would rather be out killing something then staying in a room for a meeting. This man scared me just as much as this Kurotsuchi person.

I tried to calm myself down and it was working, but then a loud voice echoed across the hall and through my bones.

"ENOUGH!" It yelled. Once again this voice was male, but it spoke with an absolute authority, and everyone fell silent at that one word. Without a doubt in my mind I knew this was Captain-commander Yamato. "We are here today to discuss an incident that occurred at the arena next to the squad three barracks one week ago. During the first duel between this boy, Hiroshi, and another boy, Shinta, this individual was making an attempt on the other's life; this was strictly against the rules and explained as well, right Hinato?" Captain Yamamoto

The instructor answered immediately, "Yes captain-commander, I explained that attempts on another's life were strictly prohibited."

"You were present during this fight correct" Yamamoto asked.

"Yes sir, I was present for the whole fight from beginning to end." Hinato answered.

"I ask that you relay the events for all to here, leaving out nothing!" Yamamoto said.

"Certainly, the two boys were at the center waiting for my signal to start the match, the other boy, Shinta, had a false start and rushed Hiroshi with his sword. Hiroshi easily dodged the attack which infuriated the other boy, who then went into a flurry of slashes and stabs without any regard to the life of Hiroshi; who still managed to dodge all of the attacks. Angered even further Shinta uses a flash step technique he probably learned before joining the academy; Hiroshi was caught off guard and whirled around to attack Shinta who had already preformed another flash step, this time Hiroshi was able to keep up with it and even was able to throw in a counter attack. Hiroshi used hadõ 1 Shõ and threw Shinta against a wall, but the boy was well train and used his feet to land against the wall and jumped at Hiroshi intending to slice him down the middle; once again without any regard for Hiroshi's life. Hiroshi than used the Shakkahõ spell and hit Shinta square on, Hiroshi Bound Shinta using Geki and launched himself in the air. Up until this point Hiroshi had been a careful fighter not once doing anything that could be fatal, but then something happened. Hiroshi then screamed at Shinta saying that he had driven him to hell and back. . . . And then he used Raikõhõ-"

She was interrupted by Kurotsuchi who said, "That is preposterous no academy student knows or can even use that technique and even some shinigami haven't been able to master it." He sounded like one of those know it all snobs who refused to admit there was something he did not know, and would probably hate it even more if it was proven he did not know.

"I assure you I am not lying Captain Kurotsuchi." Hinato said evenly, "You may ask all the students and the boys themselves if you like and of course the Captain-commander."

"No more interruptions!" The captain- commander boomed.

Like I said Hiroshi casted Raikõhõ and was about to reduce Shinta to a smoldering corpse, but before the spell had the chance to hit him the captain-commander cast a DankŪ. Hiroshi had gone into frenzy and he dived down to spear Shinta with his Zanpakutõ. The captain-commander threw up a Tsuriboshi to catch him. Once caught Hiroshi struggled against it, but then calmed down and turned around so he could talk to Shinta; Hiroshi had broken and was in tears as he asked him something I could not hear. Shinta said something and Hiroshi lost it, his spiritual pressure spiked and the Tsuriboshi was ripped to shreds; Hiroshi fell on top of Shinta and used his fists to beat him to a bloody mess, as a result Shinta was sent to Captain Unohona. She will be able to better explain his medical condition." Hinato finished and she grew silent after.

After a few minutes of the silence I could not take it anymore and slowly removed my blindfold. I kept my eyes closed until the light didn't bother me too much. I opened my eyes and looked around me. I was in a hall surrounded by ten people in captain's haori. I recognized Yamamoto right away, after that I recognized Captain Unohona; I looked to my left and felt my heart skipped a beat as I recognized Captain Komamura, but he was not wearing his helmet you could see his face just fine, next I noticed the small string with a mirror attached hanging from his sash. Some of the Captains gave some noises of surprise as they saw my eyes, the same golden dog's eyes as Captain Komamura.

One of the Captains who had not yet spoken asked, "Is this the boy from the incident three years ago?"

"Yes this is Hiroshi Osamu from three years ago, the boy who possesses a very unique reiryoku that can imitate a person's reiatsu." Yamamoto explained.

I put my hand to my face just below my eye and ran my tongue over my teeth.

A smaller captain addressed me with a question, "when you were caught in the Tsuriboshi, what did the other boy say?" I recognized the voice as the child who asked why they were all here.

"I asked why he made it his mission to ruin my life and he just smirked and said it was because I was peasant trash that had to be thrown out before I tainted anyone else. The comment itself wasn't what really set me off though, it was the look on his face; it said that he thought he was better than anyone, that he would gladly get rid of anyone if it meant that he could prove his own superiority, he was the kind of person I made sure to deal with before I died. When I was alive, one of my brother's friends had killed herself because of a person who had talked badly about her family after they had died, saying that if she weren't such a lousy piece of shit that they would still be alive. She believed him and ended her life that night, my brother and her friends were distraught over her death and the little worm who caused it just laughed at everyone." I explained remembering my little brother's depression and the satisfying crunch as I shattered the weasel's nose. "It was a stupid thing, but it struck a nerve and I finally had a way to put him in his place."

A tall man with an eye patch and spiky hair started to roar with laughter, "I've seen the kids medical charts he will definitely have learned a lesson after that beating!" this was the man who owned the voice that sounded as if he were bored with the meeting, it seems that has changed.

Another captain spoke this time, he had not spoken a word until now, he had black hair with brown eyes and clips keeping his bangs to the side of his face, "Does the fact that the young boy came from a high noble family mean nothing to you?" he asked with a stern voice.

"Personally I don't believe in noble families, only noble people. Noble families get by on the actions of their ancestors and get better opportunities just because someone did something in an earlier generation, or the family is known for something in particular. It is not fair to the people or the children to get special treatment." I said plainly.

"It is time for us to get back on track with the hearing." Yamamoto said. "We have a record that says you are applying for the experimental program at the academy. Is this true?"

"Yes, my instructors recommended me to do it and I decided to do it." I said a little hesitantly.

"I see." Yamamoto said, "Our records also say you are in the top of your class in kidõ swordsmanship and intellect."

"Yes that is correct" I say wondering where this is going.

Yamamoto thought for a bit and then came to a decision, "You will take the test on the original date determined on the pass and you will pass it or you will be forbidden to take the exam and will be expelled from the academy; or you can drop the advanced courses and go back to classes with the people in the same year as you and take the graduation exam in seven years time, but the same rule applies if you fail you will not be able to retake and you must leave and live in Rukongai for the rest of your time in soul society. Those are your options and punishment for attempting to take the life of another student. That is final; your position in your class is the only thing keeping you from exile. If you pass we will discuss your penalty afterwards." He finished and slammed his cane down, "Dismissed!" he bellowed.

I bowed respectfully and turned to leave. I was outside of the hall when a deep voice called, "Hiroshi!'

I turned and looked to see who was calling me. I saw a tall man walking toward me, as he got closer I realized this was a weird man: he had white and black makeup, a weird hat that jutted out to the side, and when he smiled he had gold teeth with white gums, the middle finger on his right hand had a nail that grew out like a claw. "My name is Mayuri Kurotsuchi; I am the head of research and development. I was the one who studied your blood when you first came here." He said with a voice that tried to sound friendly, but was entirely too creepy to really work.

"Oh. . . Yes I remember Captain Unohona saying she did that." I said remembering the hushed conversation.

"Yes, I would like to study you in more detail if you would allow me to." He said, not unkindly, "What do you say?"

I was trying to figure out a way to say no and politely excuse myself when I heard a low growl. "Leave the boy alone Mayuri." A familiar deep voice said, I turned around and was happy to see Komamura standing behind me.

"I wasn't going to do anything lethal, just some modifications." He said trying to look innocent.

"Don't mess with the boy, he isn't even a shinigami yet and you already want him to be a test subject for you? I suggest you leave now." The last words came out as a quiet threat.

"Fine" he said looking bored, he smiled and looked at me, "Let me know when you change your mind." He said cheerfully. A growl escaped Komamura's throat. Kurotsuchi looked at him and sighed, "Don't worry I am leaving . . . for now anyway." I shuddered as he disappeared from sight.

"You look just like you did three years ago" was the first thing Komamura said.

"I could say the same to you," I said with a smile, "No helmet?"

"Not anymore" he said.

"It's a nice change if you ask me." I said still smiling. My eyes found the shard of mirror strapped to his sash. "You kept it? I asked.

He smiled a bit, "I did."

"That's good to hear. I say brimming with happiness. The smile dropped from my face when I remembered where I had to go back to.

Komamura noticed, "What's wrong?" he asked.

"I have to go back to the academy and prepare for the test which is two days from now and not to mention I have to study some more to make sure I know everything I need to." I sighed, "Well I guess I should start walking before people figure I was executed." I said and started to walk away.

"Wait, I can send someone from my squad to pick up your stuff and you can stay with me at the squad 7 barracks until your test." Komamura said earnestly.

"I can stay with you?" he nodded, I smiled and said, "Thank you I would like that a lot."

We strode off side by side back to squad seven barracks. _He actually invited me to his home to stay for a while, it may not be much but I am certainly taking it!_


	5. Captain's Quarters

We arrived at the barracks an hour later. We went through the complex as Komamura introduced me to the members of his squad, and he told them why I was here; the names didn't really sink in, but I still did my best to be polite and remember them. I followed Komamura for a while and then we got to his quarters, he led me inside and closed the door behind us.

"Captain Komamura, good to see you back." A man with black hair and sunglasses said from behind a desk, doing some paperwork.

"Hello Tetsuzaemon. It's good to be back, this is Hiroshi Osamu. He will be staying with us for a few days; he is one of the few people taking the new program and if he passes he will become a shinigami, he is also the same boy from the incident three years ago." Komamura explained the last bit when he saw his lieutenant staring at my eyes. "Hiroshi this is my lieutenant, Tetsuzaemon Iba, he helps me out with the paperwork when I am not around or just busy doing something. If you have any questions feel free to ask him."

I offered my hand out to him, "Pleased to meet you lieutenant Iba."

He took my hand, "likewise Hiroshi."

At that moment barking filled the quarters as a copper flash jumped up and pinned me to the ground. "Goro!" I screamed as he started licking my face. I was able to push him off of me and pet him between the ears, "How've you been?"

"Woof!" he barked happily with his tail wagging.

"I see he still remembers you" Komamura observed with what might have been a small smile on his face.

"I think it would be pretty hard to forget someone who almost died with you" I said smiling at Goro as I remembered the day we were attacked by the hollow. "If it weren't for him I would probably still be in the world of the living right now still wandering around the park. I guess I owe him big time" I finished with scratching his belly which he was delighted by.

I looked around the room to see what was there. There was not much; I mean I saw a desk, a table, and a door that led to a kitchen where Komamura and Iba were talking, but other than that nothing much to personalize it. _I should probably start the training I came here to do._ I walked to the table and snatched a cushion, I took the cushion to a corner of the room and sat down on it; once I was situated I reached for my Zanpakutõ, unsheathed it before placing it on my lap, closed my eyes and started to meditate. I read three different books about meditation and sword communication; they all said that letting the body relax and the mind focus on your Zanpakutõ was a way to hear your sword, direct contact worked best, I strained and sometimes I thought I could hear something. In the end it was always nothing though, just my mind playing tricks on me. I tried to focus harder feeling the blade, visualizing it in my mind, and feeling the reiatsu coming from the blade; but to no avail. I let out an exasperated sigh and opened my eyes; I started a bit when I found both Komamura and Iba staring at me from the kitchen door.

"Is something the matter? " I asked feeling a little self conscious.

"What were you trying to do?" Iba asked an alarmed look on his face.

"I was trying to talk to my Zanpakutõ," I started, "without success."

"Well whatever you were trying to do, it caused your spiritual pressure to spike; it frightened Goro quite a bit." Komamura said with something in his eyes I couldn't really read.

"Oh, I'm sorry I was just thinking that if I could learn my Zanpakutõ's name I would have a better chance at passing the program in two days." I said sheepishly. "Unfortunately all I know is from books that other people have written."

At that moment someone had arrived and knocked on the door. "Captain Komamura I have finished the errand and I have the books." A voice said.

"Come on in Gin." Komamura said.

The door opened and a man, who appeared in his early thirties, came in holding my books. "Here are the books, sir." The man said formally. He was turning around when he saw me in the corner; he saw my eyes and shuddered a little bit. _Ouch._

I decided to ignore it and smiled as I offered my hand. "Hello, my name is Hiroshi. It's nice to meet you." I said politely.

His face blanched as he saw my teeth and offered a shaky hand, "P-pl-pleased to m-meet you, my name is G-Gin." He said stuttering. He turned to Captain Komamura and excused himself and left in a flat out sprint.

Iba laughed and clutched his sides, "sorry about that. It takes him a while to get used to unusual appearances. He is actually a nice man once he stops stuttering." He finished with a chuckling breath.

"It's no problem I got a lot worse than that at the academy. I'm happy he tried to be nice, even if it looked like he was about to wet his pants." I said.

Iba laughed at the last bit. When everything finally calmed down, Captain Komamura picked up one of the books and looked at it a little before setting it to the side; he did the same with the other two books.

He let out an exasperated sigh, "the books won't help you" Komamura said.

"Oh. Wonderful." I said exasperated. I tried to flop down on the floor, but forgot about the wall behind me and hit it with a loud thud. "I forgot that was there." I grumbled rubbing the back of my head.

"If you are really dead set on learning I could help you." Komamura said helpfully.

I yawned out of nowhere as it dawned on me how stressful the day had been on me and I realized I would only succeed in passing out if I tried to do anything.

Komamura must have sensed this as well because he said, "Perhaps tomorrow is when we should start. You will still be able to learn your sword's name and it is no good if you fall asleep during training." He said with what could have been amusement.

Lieutenant Iba went to the kitchen to prepare some tea and I asked if I could go and help cook something explaining I liked to cook in life. I got the go ahead and then found myself looking over what food Captain Komamura had in his pantry. I finally decided on roasted beef strips with steamed greens and rice. Thirty minutes later everything was ready. I got all the food to the table where Captain Komamura and Lieutenant Iba were waiting patiently. The both looked surprised at the food I had prepared; _they probably thought I was going to bring out candy or something_. Lieutenant Iba took a tentative bite of the Beef strips and was visibly surprised.

"Damn! These are the best beef strips I've ever had!" He said, while excitedly grabbing more.

Komamura followed Iba's lead and let out a grunt of surprise. "This **is** good." He said before reaching for more himself.

"I'm glad you like it; you see I enjoyed cooking as a distraction and way to day dream, but then I actually grew interested in it. My parents got me a couple of cookbooks and I was hooked." I admitted a little embarrassed.

At that moment Goro walked into the room and barked expectantly at me. "Don't worry Goro I didn't forget about you." I say taking a spoonful of beef strips and putting them into his bowl by the table. He barked appreciatively and dug into his helpings.

When everyone was finished, Goro included, I picked up the dishes and started to wash them in the kitchen. In the next room I heard Lieutenant Iba excuse himself for the night. He walked by the kitchen and said thanks for the meal; before he could leave though I gave him a to-go box with leftovers in it. "Have a good night." I said. He nodded and left for his own quarters.

When I finished with the dishes I came back to the dining area and found Komamura waiting for me with a pile of blankets, "I got you some blankets to make you a pallet; you can set up where ever you like." He said, not unkindly, and handed me the pile.

"Thank you for the blankets. . . . And thank you for letting me bum here until the test." I say to Komamura.

"Don't worry about it" Komamura said stiffly.

"No I mean it, thank you; if it weren't for you I would be hiding in my quarters afraid to come out and face people." I say earnestly.

Komamura seemed a bit uncomfortable, "I told you it was nothing." He said.

"Yes it was; you could have ignored me and went on your way, you could have let Captain Kurotsuchi take me away to 'modify me', and you could have ignored my presence in the human world and left me there." I say. Suddenly letting him know what he did for me seemed like the most important thing to do. "If it weren't for you I would. . . . Hell I don't know where I would be right now." I finishing. I looked into his eyes and waited for his response.

His eyes flashed with anger, "Look at you! I turned you into a monstrosity! If I had left, you would have been saved by another soul reaper! If it weren't for me you would look like you should instead of like you do; I heard what you said at the hearing, about how that boy pushed you because of the way you are! I hate myself more and more when I see you and I know what would have happened if I did not mess you up; you would have been a person everyone got along with, you probably would have been adopted by one of the noble families, You would have been spared three years of torment if I had minded my own business! When I look at you I see a wonderful young man who would have made many people happy! I can't bear the thought that I took all that away from you; I do what I can so I can make sure you get something back, even if it is small things! I have robbed you of so many possibilities; and the worst part is that you don't mind." He said with more emotion than I thought possible for him.

I stared at him in shock. He turned around to stalk off to his quarters when I finally got the courage to talk, "It's true you took things from me I will never be able to get back no matter how hard I try."

He stopped, "I'm sorr-."

"I'm not finished." I interrupted. "It's true that you did those things to me, but you did things _for me_ as well. You saved me from a hollow, you gave me another chance to live, and you saved me when no one else could. I tried to hate you for a while, because of what you did to me, I would curse you and wish I had not been saved; but I couldn't make myself hate you. Do you know why that was?" He shook his head no, still turned around. "At first it was because you reminded me of home, of my last moments of happiness. Then I looked at myself and got a good look and saw what it was you did for me: you gave me a way to defend myself if I ever lost my sword, you gave me the ability to see in the night, and you let me be able to hear what people really say and think about me. You are a gentle soul who would not do anything to harm another creature; you have the strength and ability to beat everyone down, yet you help them to the best of your ability even when they openly despise you. You don't manage your team through fear or intimidation; you try your best to know everyone and be there friend and partner. I admired that about you, and you were the only reason I became a shinigami-" I finished, cutting myself before I could say what was about to come next.

Komamura heard the cut-off, "What else were you going to say?" He asked turning around to see look at me.

I didn't say anything.

"Tell me what you were about to say!" Komamura yelled. I could have been imagining it, but I swear I saw something in his eyes; it was like he needed to hear me say it.

"Because," I took a big breath and told him what had been on my mind for the past three years, "In that small period of time, I fell in love with you."

I waited for the bomb to go off or for him to tell me to get out; but instead he closed his eyes and turned around. When he was no longer in the room my legs refused to hold me up and I fell down. I started making my pallet and fell into a fitful sleep.

_I was falling down, no I was diving; but to what? I got my answer as I fell through a fog bank and found out what, or more specifically who, I was falling to; it was Shinta. I tried to scream for him to move, but nothing except air escaped my throat. I was falling faster and faster toward the boy on the ground, I tried to move; but when I tried I realized my muscles were stone, refusing to move in any way. I saw Shinta up close now and could see the terror in his eyes as I plummeted toward him. I tried to scream again, but to no avail. When I was twenty feet away from impaling Shinta I closed my eyes; when I closed them I felt the motion of falling leave me, I opened my eyes and found myself on the ground with Shinta speeding down from the heavens toward me. His eyes were filled with a cruel joy and more hatred than any human should be able to feel. I stared as he drove the blade into my chest, and I was still staring in shock as he bent over my ear and whispered, "One less piece of peasant trash." When he finished that is when the pain set in; and I screamed in pain and desperation._

I woke up to Captain Komamura shaking me awake. I came to my senses quickly and I realized I was still screaming, I cut myself off and looked at Komamura whose eyes were filled with worry. I lost all of my self control at that moment and buried my face into Komamura's chest and cried; at first Komamura was awkward and stiff, as if unsure of what to do, and then he wrapped his arms around me in a gentle embrace.

He whispered gently in my ear, "Don't hold anything back, and let out all your anger, sadness, and desperation. I will be right here with you."

I did exactly what he said, and we must have sat there like that for hours before my wracking sobs were reduced to minute hiccups; when that to stopped I felt Komamura's grip on me tighten as he picked me up carefully and started walking us toward his room. I gave him a questioning glance.

He responded gently, "You have been through a lot; I refuse to leave you alone."

I felt more tears coming, but all I did was bury my face and his chest and say, "T-thank y-you."

He held me a bit tighter as if reassuring me he would not let me go. We arrived at his bedroom and he laid me on his bed gently. He walked around to the other side and lay down next to me. We sat there facing each other, he with his eyes closed, when I finally asked him what had bothered me since falling asleep.

"Captain Komamura?" I asked tentatively. He grunted his response while keeping his eyes closed. "Do you hate me?"

When he heard this he opened his eyes and looked at me; he lifted his hand and used it to cup my cheek and then he slowly gently kissed my forehead, "I don't think I could hate you even if I tried to." He said, his voice drifting toward me carried on a soft breeze. "Now you need to close your eyes and go to sleep okay?"

I was still lying there shocked when the question sunk in, "Okay." I said, then going out on a limb I snuggled up closer to Komamura. There was no awkward stiffness this time; instead he draped his arm over me and let it lay there. "I do love you Captain Komamura." I say slowly slipping into unconsciousness.

"I know." He sighed, "But I still don't understand why."

I chuckled lightly, "that's for me to know and hopefully one day you will find out." I say before letting sleep embrace me just as Komamura had done before.


	6. Shikai

It was early in the morning when I felt Captain Komamura stir behind me. "Good morning Captain Komamura, how did you sleep?" I ask still in the perfect place between reality and dreams.

"I slept well, how about you any nightmares?" Asks Komamura remembering what happened the previous night.

"None thank you." I say a little drowsily.

"If we are going to train we should probably get up and get ready now." Komamura says as he gets himself up into a sitting position.

"Okay," I say sitting up next to him, "but first." I lean in and give him a light kiss on the cheek. "Now we're even." I joke. I stretch and Komamura gets out of bed to get himself dressed for the day of training. "I will go make some tea and breakfast."

He nodded and said, "I hold you to the expectations you set for yourself last night." I heard something in his voice that told me he was joking.

"Candy it is." I say laughing as I leave the room.

I look around in his kitchen for something to cook. I found what I was looking for and went to work making Okayu, Miso soup, and Natto. I had the soup steaming in a pot with plenty of herbs for taste, The Okayu was going to take twenty minutes to prepare, and the Natto was in a bowl with soy sauce.

"Perfect" I say as I leave to set the table.

Just when the table was set Lieutenant Iba walked in, probably to help with the paper work; he spotted me and came over.

"Hey Hiroshi, how was your night?" Iba asked. I searched his face to see if he knew anything, he didn't.

"It was good; I was able to sleep just fine." I say and then decided to change the subject in case he started asking questions. "How did you like the leftovers?" I ask.

"They were amazing; you really are a good cook." Iba said earnestly.

"I'm glad you liked it breakfast and tea should be ready soon." I say pleasantly.

He chuckled when I finished.

"What?" I asked.

"You've been here a day and you already seem adjusted." He said still laughing.

"It's just something I have always done, when I find myself in a new environment I find things I am familiar with and put myself there as often as possible, it was a nervous habit I had." I said explaining.

"What are you nervous about exactly?" Iba asked, it was a joke; but I still felt like telling him.

"When I was alive people tended to avoid me and I did not get along with the people who would talk to me, so I was socially awkward and would have my nose in a book; but when I found hobbies it helped me adapt to people. So it has just become a habit." I say solemnly. "Well I'm pretty sure the food and tea are done by now, so I will go get them; if you are looking for Captain Komamura I am pretty sure he will be out soon."

I excused myself and then brought the food back just as Captain Komamura came into the room and sat down at the table. We sat down and ate in silence, not an awkward one just one where everyone was focused on eating. Komamura and I were not about to share what happened last night to Iba. _Thank God he isn't the most observant of people._

Iba was the one to break the silence, "So when are you two going to start the training?"

Komamura swallowed the rest of his tea and said, "We are going to start training when everyone is done eating, and Iba?"

"Yes sir?" Iba said.

"I will be helping Hiroshi with achieving his shikai, but I would like you to help train him in combat." Komamura said, "Will you be able to do it? If not I will be able to find someone else to help him."

Iba choked on his tea, "You want to reach shikai? In one day!" Iba asked incredulously. "You aren't even a full-fledged shinigami and you want to learn shikai?"

"Yes, it will help me with the program; and lately I've been having these weird dreams and feelings. I think that if I can talk to my Zanpakutõ then it will be able to help me understand what is happening." I say seriously.

"Will you be able to help him with combat?" Komamura asked again.

Iba was still looking at me skeptically, "Yeah, if the kid can achieve shikai I can help him with learning how to use it."

"It's settled then, we will begin when you two finish eating." Komamura said finally.

We finished the rest of the meal in silence.

We walked out into the garden behind Komamura's quarters, Goro looked up from his dog house sleepily and then went back to sleep; Komamura and I Sat down facing each other in the middle of the garden, with Iba sitting in the shade under a tree nearby.

"Now," Komamura said, "draw your sword and close your eyes." I did as I was told. "I don't want you to focus on the blade; I want you to focus on yourself. Read what is going through your body and find one thing that does not belong to you: an emotion, thought, or anything really. I want you to focus on that one thing and follow it like a string back to where it came fr-"Komamura did not get to finish because I was already gone.

_I was standing in a field surrounded by mountains. I sense something behind me and I turn around. There was a pond there, but standing on top of the water was a woman; a woman with long black hair and lavender eyes, she wore a tight fighting top with loose hanging sleeves and pants that resembled that which belonged to a shinigami, she had black lips that turned up into a kind smile, she was also two whole feet taller than me. Her hands moved up and beckoned for me to walk to her. I figured this was another dream, so I walked toward her and was not too surprised to find out I could walk on top of the still water. I walked toward her feeling as though I knew her; but that was impossible because we had never met._

_Suddenly I knew who she was, "You are my Zanpakutõ." I say as the realization hit me._

_She nodded, but said nothing._

_We stood there for a while and just taking each other in; she had a gentle air around her and her eyes were filled with more kindness than I knew existed in the world._

"_I'm pleased to finally meet you face to face." she finally says. Her voice is like the breeze going through cherry blossoms on a pleasant spring day; it filled me with ease. I knew I could tell her anything and she would not judge me for it._

"_Same here." I say a little dumbstruck. "I am here to learn your name." I say figuring getting straight to business would be the best thing._

"_I know, but before that I want to talk to you." The girl said._

_I figured she probably knew about all of the turmoil in my heart; and her voice made me want to stay and tell her everything that was on my mind._

"_Actually, I would like that very much." I say._

_She smiled, "I'm glad to hear it."_

_We waited there for a while_

"_So what would you like to talk about?" I ask._

"_I just thought it would be nice to talk, I don't really care about what. Is there something you would like to discuss?" she said kindly._

"_Actually there is," I say remembering the dream, "I had a dream when I was sleeping last night. It scared me and I cried afterwards. I wanted to know if you could help sort out all the hell in here." I said pointing to my head._

_She looked at where I was pointing as if she were trying to stay into my brain. "I don't see any hell." She says simply._

"_I meant what happened in my dream, I was hurtling toward Shinta and I couldn't stop." I say losing some of my patience._

"_I know what you meant, but like I said before I don't see any hell." She said with seemingly infinite patience._

"_Yes there is, I wanted to kill that guy, I wanted to impale him and make him hurt." I say practically screaming. "That scares me, what if it happens again? What if I hurt someone I care about? What if-"_

_I was cut off as the girl flung herself into me and hugged me tightly. "That's not hell." She whispers in my ear. "That's pain, fear, and anger. There is no hell in your head; you were hurt and you wanted to make sure the person could not do it to you or anyone else ever again, you were afraid if he got the chance he would keep pushing you until you broke. That's okay you are allowed to feel that way; but the way to deal with it is for you to just let it go." She said with sorrow in her voice._

_There were tears in my eyes and my voice cracked as I asked, "How?"_

_She pulled away and smiled sadly at me, "Scream. Scream and get it out of your system; and then swear to yourself you will never let it happen again. I am here to help you; I will give you my power and make sure no one can ever do that to you again." She said the last bit with passion overflowing in her words._

_I took my sword's advice and screamed, there were no tears this time just emotion and a promise that this would be the last time someone would hurt me or anyone I cared for._

_When I finished I looked my sword in the eye and an understanding passed between us. _

"_I'm sure you already know this, but my name is Hiroshi Osamu and I am weak; but the next time I see you I will be stronger."_

_She smiled her eyes gleaming with joy, "I look forward to that day Hiroshi Osamu." She leaned forward and hugged me again and said in my ear, "My name is Heiwa-tekina kagami. I will be here if you ever need me. Good bye and May the next time we meet be for a happier occasion than this."_

"_I don't know I quite enjoyed this talk." I said smiling at her._

_We hugged once more before the world went black._

I gasped as I came back to reality. My hands were grasped tightly around my sword and there was blood welling up from where I had cut myself. I watched my hand instantly start healing

"_Be more careful." A female voice echoed inside my head._

Komamura was looking at me with curiosity, "Did it work?" He asked.

"Let's see." I say energetically.

I get to my feet and bring my sword up. I caressed my sword's blade as I said, "Mimic and control, Heiwa-tekina kagami!"

My sword grew and the blade split down the middle all the way to the hilt; until I was holding two swords with steel blades and my hilts were mid-sized with normal tubas with lengths of rope sprouting from the base. The middle of the blades made little crescent outlines and when I put them together they made a complete circle.

"I'd say that qualifies as a yes." Iba said walking toward me with his sword drawn.

"Alright than Tetsuzaemon he's all yours. I will stick around to monitor the fight." Komamura said while walking over to where Iba was sitting previously.

"Okay kid let's see what you got." Iba said while getting into stance.


	7. Tetsuzaemon finds out

We stayed still facing each other waiting for the other to make a move. Iba still had his Zanpakutõ in its sealed form. _He thinks I'm not a threat_. I am still trying to find a way to handle my blades and find a balance to them. Iba waits patiently for me to figure this out.

"_A bit of help would be nice here."_ I say to my Zanpakutõ.

"_My power is yours, just ask." _It responded

"_Please help me."_ I ask patiently.

"_Okay just relax and let your reflexes take over."_

I took a deep breath and relaxed my muscles. Iba took this moment to strike.

"Never relax around your opponent, especially if they are stronger than you." Iba lectures.

My body moves without me consciously telling it to do so; I sidestep Iba and rotate my whole body and sling both my blades at him. He turned around just in time to block my strikes. He is visibly startled at the way I effortlessly avoided his attack. I took the opportunity to start slicing at him with both of my swords forcing him to go on the defensive. I let my body move of its own accord. I back away from Iba and resume a stance with one blade above me pointed at him and the other placed horizontally across my body in a defensive position.

Iba took up a stance my body recognized before my mind could comprehend. _He's going to use shikai._

"_Use my ability, call out launch!"_ kagami yelled inside my head.

I brought my swords together to form the circle in the middle and focused before yelling, "Launch!"

A black sphere erupted from the circle and hovered over me and Iba.

Almost instantly Iba's reiatsu started to drop. He stared at his own blade in disbelief.

I knew what to do next when I saw the swirling mass inside of the sphere. "Fire!" I yelled. A beam of white light shot from the sphere and hit Iba square in the chest. He was sent flying back into a wall and was there long enough for me to cast a spell.

"Carriage of thunder. Bridge of a spinning wheel. With light, divide this into six! Bakudõ 61, Rikujõkõrõ!" I screamed the incantation at the top of my lungs, instantly six lines of light buried themselves in Iba's midsection. I ran toward Iba with my swords trailing behind me. Iba broke the spell and appeared on top of the wall thirty feet away. I started swinging my swords above my head by the ropes at their hilts and launched them toward Iba at blinding speeds. Iba disappeared before either of my swords could hit him. I yanked the ropes and the swords flew back toward me and I caught them, going back to my stance.

"_You are really strong aren't you?" I asked Kagami in my mind._

"_You have no idea." She replied. "But the strength is as much yours as it is mine."_

"_Let's see if we can finish it." I said. "But let's not hurt him."_

"_Agreed." She said with finality._

I took control of my body back and started tying the ropes on the end together. Iba looked at me with curiosity. I finished the knot and tested its strength. I raised the ropes above my head and started twirling them like the blades of a helicopter. The swords started lifting up and eventually became level with the rope. Iba was still looking at me in shock. I pulled my body back and then launched the spinning blades at Iba. They hit him before he had time to move out of the way. He tried to slash through the ropes; but it wouldn't cut, the rope entangled him. He lost his balance and fell forward; when he hit the ground the blades embedded themselves on either side of his neck in such a way that if he were to move he would be decapitated. He looked at me in shock.

"Damn!" Was all Iba said. "I guess that means you win. Now get over here and untie me please."

I was in shock; _I just took down a lieutenant without getting a scratch on me. _I walked over to Iba and lifted the blades out of the ground, then I found the knot and untied it; Iba's bonds fell away and I gave him some space.

He wasn't mad, but he was looking over at the black sphere still floating around. "What the hell is that?" He asked.

"That would be one of Heiwa-tekina kagami's ability." I said. "She will launch a black sphere and that sphere can absorb enemy reiatsu and either fire it back toward the enemy as a high intensity beam or it can fill me with it and allow me to briefly mimic your abilities." I said as I dismissed the sphere. "Later I should be able to summon more than one, but that is my limit at the time."

Iba let out a low whistle, "That is certainly an ability that will come in handy; but for the record the next time we fight I won't go easy on you like I did this time." Iba finished the statement with a small warning in his voice.

Captain Komamura walked up to us and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Well done, that was an amazing performance especially seeing as that was your first time. How did you do that anyway?"

"I didn't," I said simply, "It was Heiwa-tekina kagami. She fought through me. I let her take over the controls to my body." I explained at the curious looks that Komamura and Iba were giving me.

I was about to ask what was next, when my legs buckled; I would have hit the ground if Captain Komamura had not caught me. I blacked out as I heard Komamura say that we were done for a little while.

*****************************CHANGE OF VIEW**********************************

Komamura had just laid the boy down in his bed, and let his hand trail over his cheek, when Iba cleared his throat from the doorway. Komamura turned around quickly and looked to see if Iba had seen what had just occurred, he had. Komamura signaled for them to go out into the room and talk.

Komamura turned around and gave Hiroshi one more look and turned to be confronted by Iba.

"Would you let me know what THAT was about?" Iba asked his voice devoid of accusation.

"You have to be a bit more specific Tetsuzaemon." Komamura said a small pit of anxiety forming in his stomach.

"I mean what is with that little love scene in there." Iba said still without accusation.

"I have no idea what you mean Tetsuzaemon." Komamura said trying to stall for time.

"I don't care about it, but I am worried about you to be honest." Iba said with a hint of sorrow in his voice. "After the incident with Tosen happened you have been distant. You have been acting weird ever since the incident three years ago. I don't mean to pry; but I would like to know what is going on inside your head."

Komamura was silent.

"Your secret is safe with me no one else will find out I swear that to you." Iba said still trying to figure out what was going on with his captain.

"There is no chance of you letting this go until I give you an answer is there?" Komamura said wearily.

"None at all."

"Fine let's sit down and I will tell you." Komamura said as he sat down.

Iba followed suit as Komamura starts to explain.

"It started three years ago when I went on patrol with Goro" Komamura started.


	8. Komamura tells his side of the story

"I was on patrol after Tosen left, I needed time to think so I made my way to the human world. I found myself walking around Karakura Town, it was the closest town and one I was familiar with; when Goro perked up and was staring at this one boy running around like a madman. I was a little irritated thinking that this boy was going to get hurt and probably killed; but then he stood right in front of a moving car and he phased right through it. I was shocked at what I had just seen, I looked closer and saw that he had a severed chain of fate sticking out of his chest, he was a spirit. Goro and I were going to follow him; but he took off running through a bunch of people, I was wearing my gigai and couldn't follow him, Goro chased him down. I found a secluded space to leave my gigai and pursued the two. I found them in a clearing ten miles away.

There was a hollow there; but something was wrong, there was a dust cloud from where it hit the ground. There was something sticking through the fog and it had impaled the boy, it was its tail. It ripped it out of his shoulder and the boy crumpled; when he hit the ground the hollow started walking toward him. Goro tried to keep it from hurting the boy, but he was flicked aside by the hollow as if he weighed nothing. I ran forward as the hollow reached the boy; I wasn't going to get there fast enough so I used Tenken and the hollow was ripped in half before it could touch the boy.

I ran to the boy to assess the situation and was shocked to see how serious the wound was. He was making his way toward Goro to help him. I placed my hand on his shoulder and he freaked out. I told him I was there to help him, but he insisted I help Goro first. I told him Goro would be just fine. He said he trusted me on that and let me help him. He closed his eyes as I started to heal him; he was unconscious before I was even halfway done. When I had almost finished healing him I noticed something unusual going on with his face; his mouth seemed to swell and then all of his teeth fell out of his mouth. I was shocked and opened his mouth to see what was happening; what I saw was the most bizarre thing I had ever seen, he had a new set of teeth coming in through his gums. I was still healing him when his eyes looked as if they were going to pop out of his head; I opened his eye lid and saw that the pigment in his eye was changing from a hazel green to an amber gold. His wound was healed by now and I stopped the treatment. His body relaxed and he resumed a peaceful sleep.

I picked him up and brought him to Captain Unohona. When we got to Soul Society I saw that his ears were a little sharper as well. _He's starting to look like a canine, _I started to think; I got him to the fourth squad's barracks and took him to Captain Unohona immediately. She looked at him and calmly got him situated in the medical center. I asked her what had happened to him; she told me that her guess was that his Reiryoku had a strangely adaptive quality that probably allowed him to duplicate my unique reiatsu and as a consequence he started to take on my physical qualities. She told me that if the treatment would have continued that he would have been completely transformed into the same thing as me. I told her to let me know when he woke up so I could talk to him and apologize. She told me to go get some sleep since I had been through a lot as well. I took her advice and came here and slept for a couple of hours.

When I had finished resting I took Goro with me and made my way to the barracks. I found Unohona and she told me that he was in the garden behind the barracks. I thanked her and found the boy standing on top of the bridge staring at his reflection in the pond. His hand went up to touch his face and teeth.

Goro ran up to him and started nudging his hand. He looked at Goro and smiled; he bent down and started playing with him. I called out to him and tried to be casual about the event and told him that Goro usually didn't take to strangers. He didn't even seem surprised; he just went on petting Goro saying that most dogs liked him and he them. He turned his head back to the water and I told him to sit down and I explained what had happened to him.

He sat there listening patiently without interrupting. When I finished he sat there for a while and then said that he understood what happened; before I could even apologize he thanked me. I was dumbfounded; I told him I had made him a monster and he said he didn't see it that way. He asked what about me had done that to him; I sat there and just stared at him. He persisted and then I took off my helmet. He just sat there and stared at me; I turned my head, disgusted with myself. I asked him if he was disgusted by me and he said he wasn't. I thought he was mocking me and I glared at him. He was taken aback and then asked if there were any other shinigami that were different. I started thinking and then decided to change the subject.

I told him he would not be able to stay at the barracks; he would have to leave. He told me he knew this, but had no idea where to go; he asked me if I knew where he could go. I told him about Rukongai, but then I looked at him and decided I didn't want this boy to go through what I had; I suggested he go to the shinigami academy so he could become a shinigami. I must have flinched when I mentioned Rukongai, because the next thing I knew he was asking me if there was something wrong with going there; I told him it was alright as long as you weren't too different like me. He asked if he qualified as being like me, I let him know that if he were to hide his eyes and keep his mouth closed he should be just fine. He thought about his choices for a while and then said he wanted to go to the academy. I asked his name and he told me. Hiroshi Osamu.

A week later we walked to the Academy. On the way there we saw a man beating a child with a plank of wood. I was about to intervene when Hiroshi stepped in and grabbed the board from the man. Hiroshi told the child to get out of there. The man was furious and drew a knife on Hiroshi. Before I could act the man lunged at him and Hiroshi dropped to the ground and kicked his assailant in the stomach. The man dropped the knife and Hiroshi picked it up and dropped it into a well.

I let him know that he would make a lot of enemies doing things like that; he said he didn't care and that the bastard deserved what he got. We were close to the academy and Hiroshi asked how long it took to graduate from the academy. I told him on average it took someone about ten years. He started to look sick and I reassured him saying that with the way he dealt with that mugger he could probably be done faster." Komamura took a breath and started to absentmindedly stroke the mirror still hanging from his sash.

Iba noticed and asked, "Does that," he said indicating the mirror, "Have anything in common with what you just said?"

"More or less, when we arrived at the academy Hiroshi pulled this from his pocket and handed it to me. He said to keep it for two reasons the first being so that I would not forget him until he got out of the academy, as if _that_ were going to be possible; and secondly so that I could look at it and see that I was not the monster I claimed to be." Komamura explained taking the mirror of his sash and looking at himself in it. "I still don't see whatever it is he does."

Iba chuckled and then covered it with a cough, "Sounds a little sappy to me; but I guess it works for some people."

"At first I felt obligated to help him in every way possible since I had corrupted him; but then I started thinking about how casually he had reacted to seeing me and how he insisted that I was not a monster. I saw him stop that thug without any regard for his own safety, and he's not even a shinigami. It was then that I stopped pitying him and started appreciating him for his abilities and personality, not a charity case. I found myself thinking about him from day to day, eventually I started following his progress at the academy and found out he was already at the top of his class. I even asked Captain-commander Yamamoto to look into him for me; he came back the day of the fight and said he was astounded at how strong the boy was." Komamura said, proud of Hiroshi.

Iba sensed something was still not being said, "There's more isn't there sir?"

Komamura looked at him for a minute before sighing, "Yes there is. Yesterday after you returned to your quarters Hiroshi came out and thanked me for letting him stay with me. I told him it wasn't anything and then he insisted it was; he then told me everything he was grateful for. I was frustrated that he still didn't understand what I had robbed him of, so I ended up yelling at him; I've hated myself for it and he casually just threw it aside as if nothing happened. He told me that for a while he had tried to hate me; but then realized he couldn't. He told me how I had given him a weapon to fight if ever disarmed, the sight to see in total darkness, and the ears so he could tell what people had really thought about him. He also told me that in the short time he had known me. . . . . . . . He had fallen in love with me." Komamura finished as Iba's Jaw dropped to the floor.

"What did you do then?" Iba said recovering his composure.

"Nothing" Komamura started, "I couldn't look at him, and I mean how could he love a beast like me? I walked away to my room and sat in my bed for an hour. I took the mirror and stared at it; I sat there until I heard Hiroshi whimpering in here. I tried to ignore it; but then he started screaming. I rushed in there and shook him awake and when he finally woke up he looked me in the eye and cried. He buried his face in my chest and I let him cry until he had finished. I couldn't leave him alone to his demons and I took him to my bed; I sat him down on the bed and climbed in next to him. I was beginning to doze when he asked me if I hated him." Komamura stopped a little embarrassed to finish.

"I'm guessing you said no?" Iba said beginning to put two and two together.

"I told him I couldn't if I tried. . . . . . And then I kissed his forehead. I told him to go to sleep and he said okay; he moved closer to me and we fell asleep." Komamura agreed. "That is it." Komamura said leaving out the fact that Hiroshi had kissed him back that morning.

Iba sat there for a minute then he scratched his head, "Wow. . . . . I don't really know what else to say, but wow." He scratched his head before looking away in embarrassment, "Are you happy?"

It was Komamura's turn to look away in embarrassment, "Yes you could say that."

"Then, I guess I'm happy for you." Iba said. This conversation was really to awkward for him, "You just want to drop the subject? Don't worry though your secret is safe with me."

Komamura let out a sigh of relief, "Yes, and thank you."

They both fell into an awkward silence then before Iba said, "I better go, let me know when he wakes up. I want a rematch; or you can get me if he cooks again." He finished with a laugh.

The tension was gone from the atmosphere as Komamura said he would. Iba stood up to leave; and noticed a gold eye staring at them through a thin crack in the door. He smiled, "See ya later Hiroshi!"

The eye blinked in surprise. Iba left the quarters laughing.

******************************change of view******************************************

I stepped out into the room before Komamura asked, "How much of that did you hear."

"I woke up when you started talking about the mirror." I said with a small smile on his face. "Would you like me to tell you what I see?"

Komamura looked at the mirror one more time and shrugged his shoulders, "Yes, I guess I would."

"Well that didn't sound very convincing." I say playfully.

He put the mirror down and looked at me, "I would like to know what it is you see that I don't."

I smiled before walking over and sitting beside him; I picked up the mirror and angled it so his eye was reflected back at him, "I see eyes filled with such sincerity, kindness, and beauty that it drives me up the wall every time look into them, and this" I say angling it toward his mouth, "I see a mouth that has never uttered a harsh word at a person who didn't deserve it, and also" I pulled the mirror back so he could see his entire body with my face right next to his, "I see a good soul that despite its good, gentle, and kind nature; is filled with self-loathing, guilt, and sorrow. I hope by being here I can ease that." I say and then kiss his cheek again, "Bit by bit."

He looked at me then, with the faintest hint of a smile on his lips, "You are." He bent down and kissed me gently on the lips, "More than a bit."


	9. A Betrayal

It was late morning when I received the summons to report for the exam at the squad seven training ground, Komamura had asked that his training area be used for the occasion. We walked there together and were the first to arrive. We sat there for an hour before the other candidates showed up. I recognized the two people who I had talked to before the match with Shinta had begun. I waved them over, they smiled and walked over to me; they froze when they saw Captain Komamura. I blushed and hurried with introductions, "Hey guys this is Captain Komamura, Captain Komamura these guys are-"

"Kazumi Maiko" The girl introduced herself, "Pleased to meet you Captain Komamura." She said with a formal bow.

"My name is Mamoru Ryota" The boy introduced himself, "Pleased to make your acquaintance Captain Komamura." He said mimicking the Kazumi's bow.

"It's nice to meet both of you; I look forward to watching your tests." Komamura said gently; then sensing that the other two were feeling awkward he turned to me, "I will go over there by the wall; if you need me just yell." He said kindly.

I nodded, "Okay."

Komamura walked away to leave the three of us alone; when he was gone both of my friends immediately relaxed.

"Okay, that was weird." Kazumi said. She shot me a questioning look, "What was that about."

I was going to pretend I didn't know what she was talking about; but then decided against it, "Captain Komamura put me up for a bit until the program ended." I explained.

"Oh" they both said. It looked like they wanted to ask questions, but then they decided against it.

"So you two made it into the program?" I asked.

"Yep, the Captains really used the arena fights to scout for more potential." Kazumi explained.

"And we made the cut" Mamoru finished.

"Well it's nice to see you guys here." I say earnestly. "So do you have any idea what we are going to do for the program?" I ask.

"I think they are going to make this a tourney style fighting lay out with the winners going to the next round and the losers being eliminated." Kazumi said.

"Well I personally don't feel like wasting my time speculating about what will happen. We will learn when they decide to test us; and if they do make us fight each other I'm dropping out the second I get paired up with Hiroshi." Mamoru said only half-joking.

"I think everyone feels that way, especially after what happened to Shinta." Kazumi said shuttering at the memory.

"Is everyone really afraid of me?" I ask incredulously.

"Yeah, they think you are some time bomb waiting to go off. We know better than that though; but that doesn't mean we are in any hurry to fight you." Kazumi said ending on a joke.

"Well if you thought I was frightening then, wait until you see my new trick." I say adding a mock-menacing tone to my voice.

"Well well, it looks like the freak decided to show his face after all!" This came from an obnoxious guy who was always at Shinta's side. He made sure he had everyone's attention before continuing, "So did they finally let you out of the pound mutt?"

"Glad to know I still have loyal fans like you to look after me." I say with a smile on my face, "I could give you an autograph if you would like."

That shut the guy up. I turned back to my friends and smiled, "I'm cool with what they say now; I can deal with it no problem."

"I heard they took you into custody and put a collar around your neck and chained you to a post." The guy says once again recovering his composure.

"How's Shinta doing?" I asked over my shoulder and almost instantly regretted it.

The boy got angry, "He's been doing okay and recovering as well as he can; but you fucked him up and now they are saying that he probably won't be able to become a shinigami. You had to over react and go ape-shit on him." He was seething now.

"You call me a mutt, and yet you are the one that acts like a rabid animal. I am sorry for what I did to Shinta; but it would probably be best if someone as messed up as he is did not become a shinigami."

"You are one fucked up piece of shit you know that right? You are a disgusting piece of garbage; and whoever did that to you is probably laughing at you right now."

My eyes flashed dangerously, "If I were you I would think VERY carefully about what comes out of your mouth next." My hand was on my sword's hilt.

His face drained of all color as he saw the look in my eyes. "Big whoop you wouldn't dare touch me with a captain right here." His hands were shaking and he looked to seconds away from pissing his pants.

I took a deep breath and exhaled, "You are nothing but a coward whose presence is a virus to all of humanity." I took my hand off of my Zanpakutõ and smiled, "and the thing about viruses is that no matter how persistent they may be; the body always manages to get rid of them." I smile at him showing all of my teeth; he looked like he was about to be sick. I turned my back to him and turned my attention back to my friends.

"It's a bit too noisy over here; I'll be over there meditating you two are more than welcome to join me." I say giving them a gentler smile.

"Nah, we will wait here until the captain-commander arrives. We will get you when he shows up if you want?" Kazumi said pleasantly.

"Yeah that would be nice thank you." I said.

I turned around and walked off. "I can't stand that guy." Kazumi whispered.

"Yeah he is to fuckin' creepy for my taste." Mamoru whispered back.

"Well don't worry Shinta said that as long as we pretended to be his friend he would go easy on us and we could help take the freak down." Kazumi whispered back.

"Can't wait." Mamoru said in reply.

_Thank you Komamura for letting me know what people really think and say when they think I cannot hear them._ A tear slipped down my cheek.

"_I know you're hurting would you like to talk about it?" _Heiwa-tekina Kagami asked.

"_Yes, please." _ I say.

"_I will be waiting." _She said.

I reached a tree and sat down I pulled out my Zanpakutõ and reached out to her.

_I was back in the same field as yesterday. I found her standing in the middle of the pond again. I walked out to her. She hugged me._

"_Are you okay?" Kagami asked._

"_Yeah, it becomes easier after a while." I say solemnly. "But then again it is probably my fault for letting people in whenever they offer me a compliment."_

_She smiled sadly, "It's not wrong to let people in; you just need to be a bit more careful."_

"_Thank you." I said._

"_For what?" kagami asked_

"_For being there to talk to." I responded._

"_It's not like I'm going anywhere." She laughed_

"_I'm sorry. Can I do anything to make you happy?" I asked feeling bad at the prospect of imprisonment._

"_Nah, I'm here to help you and I am perfectly content with that." Kagami replied._

"_Well then I have some steam to work off, care to train?" I ask._

"_Sounds good to me; anything in particular you want to work on?" She asks._

"_I would like to learn how to use shikai for myself; I don't want to rely on you entirely for fighting." I say_

"_Okay let's get started." Kagami said._

_We faced each other for what felt like hours. When we finally drew the sparring match to a close I was covered in sweat. _

"_Do you feel better now?" Kagami asked._

_I was panting as I answered, "Y . . . yes, much better."_

"_Glad to hear it." She said._

_I turned my head to the side and heard someone talking to me in the real world. _

_Kagami seemed to hear it to, "You should probably go now." She said smiling._

"_Yeah I should, once again thank you for helping me. It means a lot." I said._

"_Don't waste your time talking to me, prove you learned something just now; I won't help unless you ask me to do so."_

_I nodded my thanks and closed my eyes._

I started when I noticed that Kazumi and Mamoru were both shaking me awake.

"Come on Captain-commander Yamamoto and a couple of other captains and lieutenants are starting to show up." Mamoru said impatiently.

"Sorry I'm getting up." I said; and then I remembered what they had said about me, "I'll try to keep the creep factor down for you Mamoru" I finished with a bit of venom in my voice.

They both shot me questioning looks; and then it dawned on them.

"Shit, you heard that?" Mamoru asked.

"Yeah I did." I sighed deflated, "I don't care anymore; but if you could leave me alone from now on that would be appreciated."

"What makes you think we would do that? We were beginning to have fun." Kazumi said all kindness gone from her voice leaving her sound like the snotty high school bitch every school is plagued with.

"Yeah, why should we?" Mamoru said sounding like a clone of Shinta.

"I don't have the energy to waste on you and your bullshit right now; so find some other person to antagonize." I say walking away from them.

I left them both looking after me and started to walk to the gathering of people who had clustered around Captain Yamamoto. When the last people arrived he began explaining.

"You are the twenty people who have been chosen to experiment in our program. You were all given the choice to attend and you accepted. Everyone here will be allowed to graduate from the academy early if they can complete the program. There will be no winners or losers; it will be pass/fail. There will be three different categories to go through; you must pass at least two to even be considered to join the ranks of the shinigami. The categories are: Kido, Swordsmanship, and co-operative team work. Kido will be done on non-living targets; you will be asked to perform the highest level of kidõ you are capable of then the highest one without incantation and finally you will be asked to perform a specific kidõ at random. You will duel a partner in swordsmanship to see what level your skills are at. In strategizing we will throw you into a situation and you must find a way to neutralize it efficiently and with as little collateral damage as possible." The Captain-commander explained. "Any questions?"

One of the kids in the back raised her hand; it was Mamoru, "How will the partners be selected for the swordsmanship category?"

"You will be assigned to someone at random." Yamamoto said. "If there are no further questions we will begin with kidõ."

We all cleared the area as targets were brought in. I watched as person after person took their turn; most of them, Kazumi and Mamoru included, only able to cast up to hadõ 33. I sighed as it was my turn and I stepped up to the mark I was supposed to cast from.

"Now taking his turn at the kidõ portion of the exam is Hiroshi Osamu!" the announcer yelled. I was the last person and I could tell that people were bored and wanted to start the next portion so I decided to make this quick.

"Please perform the highest kidõ you can without incantation." Captain-Commander said.

I took my stance and crossed my left hand over my chest. "Hadõ 54, Haien!" I threw my arm out and a purple arc of flame hit the target; almost completely incinerating it.

The crowd around me gasped in shock at what had just happened; the captains all had varying looks of surprise; excepting Komamura who looked at me with pride. Captain-commander remained passive.

"Please perform the highest kidõ of your ability." He said.

Once again I took up my stance I placed my left hand over my right elbow to support it. "Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! On the wall of blue flame, inscribe a twin lotus. In the abyss of conflagration, wait at the far heavens. Hadõ 73, Sõren Sõkatsui!" Twin bursts of blue fire shot from my palm and split in two opposite directions and then met head on and turned the rest of the target to ash.

Once again the cluster of people was amazed.

"_Thank you for lending me the power to pull that off." I say to Kagami._

"_I don't know how many times I have to tell you this; but my power is yours" she said wearily._

"_I know but it doesn't hurt to say thank you does it?" I ask._

"_You are an odd one, you know that right?" she said laughing in my head._

"_But you're stuck with me. One more and we should be done; you ready?" I say putting all joking aside._

"_Yep!" she said energetically._

Once again Captain-Commander Yamamoto remained impassive. "For your last spell I want you to cast Bakudõ 58 and locate Captain Kenpachi." He finished with tossing me a bag of black powder.

I drew a circle on the ground with the appropriate quadrants labeled. And started the incantation, "Heart of the south, eye of the north, finger of the west, foot of the east, arrive with the wind and depart with the raid, Bakudõ 58, Kakushitsuijaku!" I slammed my palms to the ground and focused on Kenpachi's reiatsu. I stood there for a minute until I found him. "Captain Kenpachi is on the outskirts of Rukongai and is exhibiting a higher reiatsu then normal; he is possibly sparring with somebody." I report as I make sense of the readings.

"Thank you that will be all." Captain Yamamoto said dismissively; I bowed and took my place back in the crowd. "That concludes the kidõ portion of the exams. You will all have a twenty minute break to rest and prepare yourselves for your next challenge. Dismissed!"

I walked away from the crowd; but not quick enough to escape the whispers that followed. I heard people call me a monster and freak; but I was able to push it off without much thought.

I was near the wall I was going to sit at and eat lunch when the boy from earlier yelled, "Think fast dog boy!" I turned around just in time to have a rock smash into my face. The whole crowd roared with laughter.

I took a deep breath and calmed myself; they were just trying to antagonize me so I would flip out again. I bent down and picked up the rock and examined it; when I was done I flung it at the wall right next to the guy's head. Upon impact the wall caved in leaving a hole about the size of his torso. His face drained of all color and I was gratified to see a dark spot slowly spread from his groin to his legs.

I turned around and strolled to my spot and sat down starting to munch on my apple. I was deep in thought when I saw a kid being harassed by a bunch of the older kids who were taking his lunch from him. He didn't even resist he just sat there and let them do it a defeated expression on his face. When the older kids finished with him they left throwing his food on the ground. _This is looking kind of familiar_. I packed up my remaining lunch and walked over to the kid who I thought was close to crying.

"You okay?" I ask as I got closer.

"You're too late; the others already destroyed my food." The kid said somberly.

"Then it's a good thing I brought this with me." I said indicating my lunch. I sat it down in front of him. "You can have it if you want. There's plenty."

"Those other guys will just come back and mess with me again." The boy said without looking up.

"Then I will stay here with you and keep those other guys away so you may eat in peace." I say kindly.

The boy finally looked up and asked, "You would do that for one of the people who laughed at you when you got hit?"

"Look at it this way; if me and you end up fighting each other I don't want you to be starving." I say making it look like a selfish reason.

He gave a sarcastic smile, "since I am so obviously a threat to you; hungry or not."

"Well we won't know what you got if you're half starving now will we?" I say with a chuckle.

The kid lightened up, "I guess not." He started devouring the contents of my lunch; and then seemed to notice I was not eating, "aren't you going to eat?" he asked.

"I'm not hungry; plus I had a huge breakfast." I say.

"Okay; if you say so." He said shrugging and digging back into my provisions.

The group of people who attacked the kid a few minutes ago started walking over. "Keep your head down and don't say anything; I will deal with this." I told the kid as he noticed the people getting closer and closer.

"Hey shrimp, you gonna share that food with us?" A scrawny guy asked.

"It's not really his to share." I say not bothering to look at the people.

"Shut up freak; no one was talking to you!" The scrawny weasel said.

"Well you certainly are now." I say smiling at him.

"Sounds like someone needs to learn a lesson about respect." Weasel boy said.

"Shoot it looks like I forgot my pen and paper." I say being as big a smart ass as possible. I got to my feet and patted the dust off of my lap.

"Don't worry this is something you won't be able to write down." When he finished two of his friends ran up and punched me in the gut.

The air rushed out of my lungs and I skidded a few feet back. There was definitely going to be a bruise there tomorrow. I got my breath back and the weasel smirked. "Apologize and I won't hurt you again."

"I'm good; but you have to the count of three before I am forced to take drastic measures." I say getting serious.

They all just smirked at me.

"One. . . ."My hand went to my sword.

Some of their smiles faltered.

"Two. . . ." I had my blade drawn and was aiming it at the closest of the group.

Some of the kids left and got away; weasel boy just sat there with a smirk on his face.

A hand clamped down on my shoulder and I looked up to see Komamura looking at me. "There will be no need for that right now." He said, "You" he pointed toward the group, "leave now and leave these two alone." The other people in the group dispersed instantly; but the weasel boy just glared at me and smirked.

The boy looked up to Komamura and said, "Thank you for helping out."

Komamura looked down at him and said, "don't worry about it; finish eating because the break is almost over."

Komamura looked me in the eye,"A bit of strategic advice; don't show your hand until the last moment."

"I will take that to heart, sir." I say. I realized my blade was still drawn; I sheathed it and bowed respectfully to Komamura. _I hope one day I won't have to pretend to not have anything between us._

Komamura must have sensed my thought, his gaze softened in understanding.

The boy was able to eat his fill without further antagonizing from anyone else.

"Why do you think they target me?" He asked solemnly with his head on his knees.

"You are younger than the majority of the people here, that makes you different; and what is different is a potential threat that must be dealt with." I tell him the realization that I had reached two years earlier when I had first been put into the advanced courses.

"They are scared of me?" The boy asked.

A small smile placed itself onto my face, "Yeah, yeah they are."

"Sweet." The boy said an impish grin covering the lower half of his face.

"The trick is to use it sparingly; if you use it full force people won't be afraid anymore. You have to figure out what makes a person's skin crawl." I instruct him. "Don't use it as a weapon; use it as a shield. It will work a lot better like that."

We just sat there for a while after that. Then the little boy asked, "Why do they target you? You are a nice enough person who just keeps to himself."

At that moment Captain-commander had returned, "All participants prepare for the second round!" He shouted.

"Tell you what, when we both finish here and become shinigami I will tell you." I say bargaining with the kid.

"You got a deal." He said happily.

_Yeah now I just have to make sure I will be able to complete at least one of the remaining two categories._


	10. Discretion is not a strong suit

"All of you listen up!" an official yelled. "Captain-commander Yamamoto will tell you how this will go down." The man turned to Yamamoto and bowed to him.

"You will all draw a number from this container." He started, "Your number will correspond with one of the shinigami standing behind me. You will spar with said shinigami and demonstrate your abilities to the best of your capability. The shinigami you draw will be completely random; you could draw a captain, lieutenant, or any other person on the premises. There will be restrictor settings that will keep the two of you on equal fighting ground; the higher your abilities the tougher your opponent will become. There will be no negotiations, you will fight who you draw, NO EXCEPTIONS! You will be able to fight how you want; using kidõ or Zanpakutõ. The drawings will begin immediately if there are no questions. Those of you who wish to drop out now may do so."

No one raised their hand and no one asked any questions. I looked around at the collection of people in uniforms around me; they all wore identical black robes, except for this with captain's haori and lieutenant's badges. I counted in my head and figured out there were three lieutenants, squad 11, squad 6, and squad 3. I counted again and saw that there were four captains, squad 4, squad 13, squad 10, and of course Komamura was there as well. I sighed _there are twenty people here and seven high ranking officers, even if it is random there is almost a fifty percent chance I will be taking on one of them; God I hope it won't be Komamura, I won't be able to surprise him AND I don't think I could raise my sword against him. Squad 11 is notorious for being full of hotheads who like battles so I would like to avoid her, even if she is a little girl._

I was still in my thoughts when I finally heard my name called, "Hiroshi Osamu step forward and draw your number." I walked forward and stumbled a little bit as someone stuck their foot out to trip me. The crowd sniggered a little bit. I regained my balance and resumed walking; I was almost to the captain-commander when I heard a slight whistle in the air, I turned around and caught the rice ball before it could beam me in the head. I looked at it with a familiar anger building in me once again, I choked down the rage before it could surface; I turned back around and claimed my number from an impassive Yamamoto.

After the last person received their voucher an uneasy silence took hold of the candidates as they each waited to see who they would be matched up with. Despite myself I looked over and saw Kazumi and Mamoru sharing identical looks of smug contempt; I looked over at the boy and saw his face was pale and shining with sweat. I forced myself to focus on the captain-commander as he started to speak.

"Without further delay we will begin the match ups! I will call out a number and you and your opponent will come forward. The fights will commence when the rest of the spectators arrive." Captain-commander Yamamoto said.

"Who are the spectators?" I heard a girl ask.

"The rest of the thirteen court guard squads and your fellow students; everyone will witness what will transpire here today." He answered

"Why?" a different girl asked.

"The pressure and anxiety you feel as hundreds of people watch you will be similar to the stress you will feel in a high intensity battle." Yamamoto answered once again. "No more questions! We will begin the process of match ups."

I stood in a stiff silence as I watched people get partnered up. A guy in what appeared to be his mid-twenties let out a sigh of relief when he was paired with a little girl with pink hair _idiot do you not see the lieutenant's badge on her arm?_ I watched as the other captains and lieutenants were paired up with various people; much to my pleasure Mamoru was paired with Komamura, he looked like he was about to puke. He saw me looking and sneered; I raised an eyebrow and turned away from him _I hope he gets hurt, at least a little._ Kazumi was luckier as she was paired with an unranked shinigami.

"Will those with number 16 step forward?" Yamamoto said.

I stepped forward as a man with a captain's haori stepped forward; he had long white hair with brown eye, he was smiling kindly as he looked at me.

"I am Captain Ukitake; and you are the boy from two days ago correct?" He said the smile faltering slightly, "I wish you the best of luck." He finished with a gentle smile that reached into his eyes.

I nodded stiffly and then realized I was being rude, "Pleased to meet you Captain Ukitake, I wish you the same."

He laughed a little and then turned around; as he walked away he was overcome with a coughing fit that wracked his entire body. I rushed over to him and helped keep him steady. He looked at me clearly embarrassed.

"Don't worry about me I just need to sit down real quick." He said kindly.

He didn't seem to notice the thin line of blood slithering down the corner of his mouth. At that moment he passed out; Captain Komamura came over and hefted up the unconscious captain with ease.

"Is he alright?" I ask worrying for the captain.

"He's been a bit ill lately; but don't worry he will be able to fight without any problem in time for your fight." His eyes glittered kindly as they reflected the sun above. It took every ounce of will power I had not to stroke his face. _Soon enough_. Captain Komamura turned and walked over as Captain Ukitake started to stir.

I walked back to the spot I was standing at previously with people watching my every move. _Of course they are going to stare, you are the freak who is fighting a captain and you are also the freak who destroyed another student without provocation; and to top it off my opponent is ill, wonderful._

Everyone had finally been paired up; and we were making our way to the stadium at the squad seven training grounds. I was still wondering about how my fight with Ukitake would go; I wasn't paying attention when someone shot their hand out and grabbed my arm tightly; I snapped my head up to see who it was, it was the Lieutenant of squad 11.

"HI!" the little pink haired girl screamed excitedly.

"Uh, hi?" I say a bit confused.

"You are the one fighting Ukki right?" She asked with an equal enthusiasm.

"Ukki? Oh, you mean Captain Ukitake; yes I am fighting him." I say still wondering where this was going.

"You're going to be beaten." She giggled.

"I don't doubt that." I sighed. I seriously did not want to make her angry because they don't just make people lieutenants for any reason.

She looked at me with eyes scrunched up in thought. "You look like Koma-Koma."

"Who?" I asked.

"Koma-Koma, you know: the size of a giant, doggy head always looks like this." When she finished the smile dropped from her face and she did a dead on imitation of Komamura's solemn expression.

I bit my lip trying not to laugh, but couldn't stop myself; I laughed so much my sides started to hurt and people turned to see what I was laughing at. I regained my composure, "You mean Captain Komamura. Yeah I was the person in the incident three years ago. My eyes and teeth changed, and my hearing became a lot sharper."

"OH, so you are the boy with the wolf eyes?" she asks wide eyed.

I rolled my eyes a little despite myself, "Yes."

She started laughing, "Then I am really glad I decided to talk to you; that means you were the one who put that kid in the hospital during that training class right?"

I cringed a little bit.

She noticed and laughed a little, "What's the matter? In Kenny's squad that is a good thing. Kenny wants to fight you now, just to see if you are strong he is going to be so jealous of Ukki." She was giggling to herself.

"Who is Kenny?" I asked.

She seemed a bit peeved, "You're stupid."

I just looked at her.

She started laughing again, "Kenny is my captain, and he wears an eye patch and has spiky hair with bells on the end of it. He is always smiling."

I thought and then shuddered. She meant the crazed psycho who taunted Captain Kurotsuchi at my trial. "Why does he want to fight me?"

"Because you were able to break through a kidõ casted by Gramps." She said

_She means captain-commander Yamamoto._

"You have a nick name for everyone here don't you?" I ask her.

"Just about." She giggled. "I haven't thought of one for you yet; when you fight Kenny I will have one for you."

I rolled my eyes. "Why are you here and not your captain?"

She also rolled her eyes, "It's obvious, Kenny doesn't want to fight weaklings. I was told that if I fought I would get candy." She giggled and then narrowed her eyes, "You can't have any!"

I held up my hands in mock surrender, "I wouldn't think of taking any."

She smiled again, "Kay."

"So you are here for candy?" I ask trying to keep the conversation going.

"Not just candy, anything sweet." She started, "wait, do you have any?"

I smiled a little bit, "let me see." I started patting my pockets and stuck my hand through my bag absentmindedly.

Her eyes shone like little stars when I pulled the little piece of peppermint from my pocket. She snatched it and shoved it into her mouth before I could blink. She moaned in pleasure as the taste flooded her mouth.

"I will try to have some on hand for you." I tell her, laughing silently at how quickly she finished the sweet.

"Kay!" she squealed and before I could really react she disappeared into the crowd of people.

"That child will eat you out of house and home before she has had enough sweets." A deep voice said behind me gently.

I smiled, "How long have you been listening?"

"Since I saw her tugging on your sleeve." He said evenly.

_Shit he heard me laugh at the impression._ "Oh." I say feeling a little nervous.

He looked down at me with his mouth twitching slightly, _he's doing that on purpose_, "So do I really look like that?" Komamura asked with his signature straight face solemn expression.

"No no!" I say lying quickly to prevent him from getting upset.

He looked at me for a second before a deep rumbling chuckle shook his chest. His eyes glittered in their special golden way, "You are a terrible liar."

I sighed deflated, "Sorry I didn't mean to laugh it just caught me off guard."

He took my chin in his hand and made me look him in the eye. "Don't apologize I like it when you laugh, the way your body shakes with it and the way your eyes shine." He looked at me lovingly.

"I like it when you laugh too, it is a deep heart-warming sound that lightens the tension." I was staring into his eyes.

"I might need to do it more often than." His voice was a liquid honey that seeped into the very depths of my being. I was still enchanted as he bent down and kissed me on the lips. I closed my eyes and let my hand grip the side of his face. We pulled apart and stared at each other.

"I'm scared Komamura." I say with tears pricking the sides of my eyes.

He looked at me with a hand gently caressing my cheek, "I know you are; but there is no reason for it, you are easily the best candidate here."

I looked in his eyes as the tears started spilling over, "Thank you." I whispered as I buried my face into his chest. I pulled myself together quickly and then kissed him once again quickly, "I'm going to catch up with the others before they notice I am gone. Will I see you after the match?" I ask drying up the streaks on my face.

"Yes and I will be quietly cheering you on." He whispered in my ear, "Now go and catch up." He clapped me on the shoulder and I ran to catch up with the others.

The arena was identical to the one where I fought Shinta, there was a coliseum set up with bleachers filled with shinigami and students alike. I sucked in a breath and tried to keep calm as all twenty candidates stood in the middle of the ring waiting for the introductions to be over with. They were introducing all the candidates after each person was introduced a polite applause went up and some of the friends of the person would cheer.

My name was introduced as I stood apart from everyone else and faced the crowd. The shinigami gave a polite applause like they always did; but all the students from the academy started booing me and throwing garbage in my direction. A few of the people behind me sniggered quietly in their places. A piece of fruit exploded on my shoulder and I walked back into line.

"That's fucked up." A voice said beside me. "They should have gotten his face."

A sense of uselessness overwhelmed me. This was never going to let up, all because of Shinta. I bowed my head and waited for everything to finish. Everyone was finished being introduced and we were all told to wait for our match to come up, I learned I would be third.

We all took our places at the outer ring of the arena to be spectators. The first match was between the pink haired lieutenant and the twenty year old guy; it was over pretty quickly, she appeared behind him and slapped him on the back and he flew against the wall and was out cold. She was a little confused and pouted away and took her place at the outer ring.

The second match was between the lieutenant of squad three and a young woman, late teens. The fight lasted just a bit longer than the previous one. She launched a kidõ and momentarily ensnared the lieutenant and used the moment to fire a Shakkahõ and charged him with her sword. The lieutenant flashed behind her and had his sword at her throat; the match was over at that moment.

I breathed deeply and told myself to relax. My shirt was still covered in the juice of the fruit so I shrugged it off; as the shirt hit the ground the people around me gasped as they saw the lattice work of scars crisscrossing over my body, the results of my training. I tilted my head up toward the sun and let a single tear slide down my face, _no more weakness_. I crossed to the center of the arena where muttering started up in the stands as my scars came into full view. After the muttering was done a lone boy screamed, "He's a cutter! Fucking Freak, take this!" A rock hit me in the arm; as if this was a cue a hailstorm of rocks flew from the hands of academy students and pelted me. I kept my cool until the rocks stopped; I felt the warm trickle of blood flow from my temple to the side of my face. Captain Ukitake gave me a worried look as the blood dripped to the ground at my feet; I ignored it and bowed to him. I took up my stance with my hand resting lightly on my Zanpakutõ; he walked over to me and was about to dab away the blood.

"Leave it!" I say trying to keep my emotions under control.

He looked at me and saw the turmoil burning under the surface of my skin.

"It will give them the reaction they want so just leave it and get ready." I say barely keeping my voice from shaking. Captain Unohona was making her way toward me with a sad smile on her face, "Don't interfere." I say not managing to keep my voice steady. She looked shocked but still kept on. "I said leave it!" this time desperation leaked into my voice and it shook, "I need to fight and show all of them that I am not weak." She looked at me sadly and nodded her head. I turned my head to Yamamoto, "I'm ready to start." He nodded and gave the signal to begin.

"I won't fight you." Ukitake said calmly.

"You have to." I say.

"I refuse to hurt children." He started eyeing my face, "especially one that is wounded

"You will hurt me even more by refusing to fight. This" I say pointing to my cut, "is what I have had to put up with and will continue to put up with until I prove that I can handle myself."

"I will not." Ukitake stated sadly, "You are a lonely person."

It struck me to the core and I felt my chest start to heave, "That does not concern you. If you refuse to fight, at least defend so I can prove to them that I am not some monster."

"I will defend myself." He said nodding.

"Thank you" I whispered.

I drew my sword and calmed myself down. I stared facing him and then struck; he raised a single hand and blocked my attack easily with a kidõ. The crowd laughed. I raised my hand and cast a Shakkahõ that he easily disabled with one of his own. I started swinging and slashing; but to no avail. I was fighting a captain and he blocked me easily, _it's time to bring _up_ the pace_. I performed a flash step and was behind the captain in an instant; he was caught off guard and drew his sword to prevent me from landing the intended blow.

I flashed again and again, each time he just made it and blocked me; I flashed twice without striking catching him unaware.

"Bakudõ 30, Shitotsu Sansen!" I made a triangle with the points blazing spiritual energy that shot forward and pinned Captain Ukitake to the wall. He was stunned, and then sighed; his spiritual pressure spiked and the triangle shattered, releasing him.

"That's very good; but the incantation would help you a lot more." He said smiling. "And your stance is a little too wide try keeping your legs closer together and your arms need to loosen up the slightest bit; other than that your fighting is impeccable."

I just stared at him.

"Ukitake! You must stop goofing around; you don't have to kill him or even hurt him, just get him in a position that would mean defeat." Yamamoto yelled across the field.

He sighed and looked at me sadly, "Don't worry this won't hurt, I promise." He said before disappearing faster than my eyes could track. A blade held its place firmly at my throat.

"Match is. . ." An official started.

The crowd watched as I lifted my blade up and gently stroked it.

"What are you doing?" Ukitake breathed over my shoulder.

"Mimic and control, Heiwa-tekina Kagami!" I shouted as my hand caressed the end of my blade. My blades were enveloped in my copper reiatsu; a line went down and split my blade in half with an echoing crack as it separated into two blades. The blades curved around the center forming two half moons; and finally a length of red rope fell to the ground, sprouting from the ends of both swords. "Let's see how this works." I say as Ukitake jumps away from me.

The crowd gasped and stared at me in amazement. I brought my hand up and wiped away the blood that had flowed freely. I focused on Ukitake and watched as he stared at me. "That's something new. Very good, there are even some shinigami who have not accomplished that feat; but I have to end this now, sorry." He prepped for a kidõ spell.

"Launch!" I shouted. A black sphere formed and flew out from me, hovering in the air between us.

Ukitake switched his focus from me to the sphere, "Shakkahõ!" The red flame shot from his hand and flew directly at the sphere. When it reached the sphere, it disappeared and a single red dot appeared within the sphere's depths. "What the-?"

"Fire!" I shouted pointing my blades at Ukitake, the red dot swell and grew and was forced out in a beam of white energy.

Bakudõ 81, DankŪ!" a translucent barrier sprung up in front of Ukitake and stopped the blast; but on closer inspection, one could see the cracks in the wall.

Not missing a beat, I charged forward at twice my normal speed and slung both my blades toward Ukitake holding the ropes so I could attack from a distance.

"All Waves, Rise now and Become my Shield, Lighting, Strike now and Become my Blade, Sõgyo no Kotowari!" When the dust had settled Ukitake was holding to twin swords with a red chord in between them with five charms hanging from it; he had both my blades caught in his swords.

I yanked the ropes and my swords flew back to me. He watched as I got them in my hands and took up a different fighting stance. Ukitake tilted his head to the side in confusion.

"So I take it you know how to use those." He said with a light smile on his face.

"I'm still a little new; but I know enough to handle myself." I say trying to find a center of balance.

Ukitake turned to Yamamoto, "This may take a bit longer than anticipated." He said.

I took the opportunity to look at the people on the outskirts of the ring. Everyone had varying looks of surprise and awe. I looked at the captains and saw that Komamura was looking at me with pride evident in his eyes.

"Go, show them that you are not to be messed with." He whispered quietly enough so that everyone else, but me wouldn't be able to hear him.

"Hiroshi, right?" Ukitake asked.

"Yes." I say turning my attention back to him.

"I'm going to come at you now, not hard enough to do serious damage; but you will have to pay attention to me now or you will lose quickly." He said looking me straight on.

"Thank you." I started, "I will."

He charged me with both blades pointed at me, I dodged one and lifted one of my swords up to stop the other one. The other blade rushed toward me and I did the same thing again; I used the shape of my blades to bend and hoist me up over Ukitake and I landed ten feet behind him. I turned just as he was about to slash at me, I held my blades up in a cross and shielded myself from the blow; I was thrown back to the wall. When I hit the wall it caved in slightly and I coughed up a bit of blood.

"_Kagami, will you help me out again?"_

"_Of course!"_

"_We probably won't be able to beat him, but let's put on a show at least."_

"_Okay!"_

I felt Kagami's presence almost immediately and slowly I got on my feet and together we faced Ukitake. We charged him in a miniature hurricane of blades, he was able to block all of our attacks without fail. I got an idea and took control of my left arm, "Hadõ 54, Haien!" the attack flew wide of Ukitake and was absorbed by the sphere in the air.

Ukitake didn't seem to notice that I had intended to miss him. He looked at me with curiosity as I pointed one of my blades at him, "Fire!"

He realized what had happened just as the white beam fired and destroyed the ground he was standing on not even a moment before. I let out a sigh as two blades were pressed into my throat.

The official seemed reluctant to call the match; I looked at him and nodded, "Match is over!" He yelled.

The blades dropped from my neck, "Good match, that was certainly more of a challenge than I had expected from a student." Ukitake said in good humor from behind me.

"It was an honor to fight you Captain Ukitake. Thank you for giving me the chance to prove myself." I said turning to face him with a smile on my face, "Although this is probably the only time I will ever be happy to lose." I joke.

He laughed, "I am happy to have been able to help you." He turned around and looked at the crowd, "I think you proved your point though." He looked at the orb still hovering in the air, "I don't think you need that anymore."

I looked at the orb and dismissed it with a thought, and then I put my blades together and returned it to its sealed form. As I sheathed the blade I was caught off guard by what Ukitake said.

"Komamura is a lucky man to have you." He said out of the blue.

I choked on the air and looked at him with wide eyes, "I don't know what you mean."

"I saw you two before you entered the arena." He saw my panicked expression, "Don't worry I won't tell. I think it's nice that Komamura found someone to talk to and be with."

"We really have to work on the whole discreet thing." I say as my cheeks turned a deep scarlet.

Ukitake just laughed, "Well your secret is safe with me; but I agree some discretion wouldn't hurt." Now he looked at me with a straight face. "The fight is over now, so will you let someone get those wounds tended to?"

"Yes, I proved my point." I say feeling a sense of pride building in my stomach.

Ukitake smiled and took a step forward, his face went white and he coughed up a bit of blood and then he passed out. I ran forward and caught him for the second time that day. _What is with this guy?_

Unohona came over and sighed, "He overdid it again, don't worry he will be better in a bit, he just needs to rest. You on the other hand should have your wounds cleaned and patched up." She finished with her trademark smile.

"I'll take care of the boy, why don't you see if you can get Ukitake to wake up." Komamura offered as he walked up.

"Okay." Unohona said immediately handing him a first-aid kit and going to work on Ukitake.

Komamura took me over to a tunnel where we would be out of sight and earshot of everyone, "That was a magnificent battle. You have gotten a lot better." Komamura said as he started dabbing at the cut on my temple. I winced a little bit.

"Ukitake saw us outside the arena." I tell Komamura.

"I heard. We do have to work on that." He says finishing up the treatment and looking me in the eye.

"That's two down and one to go." I say as I get up to stretch.

"You did remarkably well in the first two; even if you mess up, which is doubtful, you will be almost guaranteed a spot in the Gotei 13."

"I'm still freaking out about the next part of the challenge. I don't know how it will work out."

"You will do just fine." Komamura said sitting down.

"I hope so." I say joining him. We sat there for a while; until a yawn escaped me. "I'm Tired Komamura."

"Then rest here, I will wake you when we need to get moving." Komamura said pulling my head to rest against his lap.

"Okay, but just for a moment." I whispered getting myself comfortable.

His hand rand tracks down my body soothingly, "Don't worry I will make sure no one disturbs us."

"Thank you." I moved myself closer to him and fell into a deep sleep.


	11. Lemon dreams SEX ALERT

**This is my first lemon chapter so don't expect too much from me. A friend was going crazy asking me to write a lemon chapter so i obliged her. I hope you like it, send me reviews if you like it and if i should do more.**

_I was in a bed, with a huge shape lying down next to me. The shape moved into the light and I saw that it was Komamura with his eyes closed. I turned over and kissed him on the nose and woke him up._

"_How'd you sleep?" I asked._

"_I didn't. How could I?" He asked._

_I let my eyes wonder down his body and realized he was completely naked in front of me. He was beautiful; the copper fur covered his entire body except for the soft crème color flowing from the bottom of his muzzle to center of his chest. His body rippled with muscle at the slightest of movements. There were faint lines where the fur would not grow, his scars; he saw me looking at his body and a deep rumble shook his chest. I let my eyes continue to explore his body, and found myself staring at his slowly erecting arousal. _

_He saw my eye take in his body and moved closer to me. He raised his hand and slowly started tracing my face with one of his fingers. I shivered and realized that I too was naked. I blushed deeply as he pressed his furry body against my smooth one and kissed me square on the lips; He forced his tongue into my mouth and started to explore my body with his free hand._

_His hand wrapped itself around my now swollen member, and I moaned in pleasure. I gave myself into his kiss and slipped my tongue into his mouth._

"_I love you." I whispered into his ear as we separated for breath._

"_I know you do." He said staring me in the eye. His hand started to stroke my erection in earnest now. A shiver of pleasure overtook me as I came into his hand. He brought his hand up to his face and trailed his tongue over it, "The nectar that sustains me." He said as he cleaned his hand._

_I took a chance and put my hand against his still hardening manhood. I let two of my fingers gently trace his underside, Komamura moaned as I gently caressed his tip and a glob of precum drenched the tip of his now hard arousal._

_I kissed him on the nose before I asked, "May I?"_

"_Please!" He moaned as I continued to massage his arousal._

_I scooted myself lower until I had my eyes level with his cock, I gently kissed the tip of his weeping cock. He moaned in pleasure as I repeated the process to his entire area. His body started shaking from the pleasure that was coursing through his body. I ran my tongue over my lips and tasted the salty-sweet taste of his precum; and I wanted more. I slid my lips over his shaft and started bobbing my head up and down. Komamura's hand placed itself firmly on my head and he started to thrust into my mouth. I gagged and choked as his meat forced itself down my throat; after a few moments I was able to adjust and fight down my gag reflex. My tongue ran laps up and down his quivering heat. I smelled the musk and sweat coming from his body, as it reached my nose it activated something primal within me and I started bobbing up and down with a ferocious determination to make him cum. My wish was granted as he thrust once more and his whole body shook with the force of his orgasm. My mouth was filled with a thick creamy fluid that tasted of salt, I swallowed it all without complaint and sucked on him until I got every last drop._

_I released his still hard member and brought my head back up to Komamura's, whose eyes were filled with a furious passion and lust. He kissed me firmly on the lips before he stood me up in front of him. He kissed me again quickly on the lips and then started to work his way down my body. He kissed my neck and chest and when he got to my hard nipples he sucked on them and gently nipped at one while playing with the other, and vice versa. It was my turn to moan in pleasure as the sensation of him playing with my nipples overtook my body. He stopped playing with my nipples and worked down my body; he reached my navel and let his tongue explore the minute cavity. I never realized how much pleasure I could get from such a small act. He let his tongue trail down my body, skipping my crotch entirely, making his way to my legs and feet. His tongue got every inch of my legs and I was trembling with sensual overload when he moved to the other leg; to which he repeated the same process._

_He stopped and let his tongue come up to my groin and rehardened meat; He let his tongue explore the region, traveling over my swollen balls. He took them both into his mouth and started sucking on both of them, with his tongue moving between the two; his hands gripped my ass with enough force to make me gasp in pain. As tears started flowing down my cheeks I sucked in a breath as he released my balls and took my cock into his mouth; the sudden warmth caught me unaware and I started rocking my hips back and forth into his mouth._

_A low growl of pleasure escaped Komamura's mouth and reverberated through my cock. I rode a wave of euphoria as I came again. He sucked on me for another five minutes before letting my limp cock fall from his mouth. _

_I was spent and flopped down on the bed with a thud; I was still in bliss when Komamura flipped me over, exposing my ass to him, and started licking me. I groaned in ecstasy as his tongue invaded my asshole and worked its way up my bowls, my back arched as he hit the sweet spot right beneath my prostate. _

_He removed his tongue and slowly inserted his finger into my hole, stretching me out; I gasped in pain as he started slowly adding another finger. My ass was burning as he worked his fingers into me. I was sobbing openly as he slid a third finger into me. I bucked my hips against his fingers so that I could help him out. He was getting excited and his finger withdrew from me, leaving me feel empty and incomplete._

_I was about to complain; but at that moment he spread my legs apart and pain shot through me like a searing iron as he entered me._

"_FUCK!" I screamed as he stretched me even further._

_He went slowly at first, trying to be gentle; but he soon picked up steam and started thrusting harder. Something inside of snapped and all the pain vanished, leaving only an intense pleasure; I started rocking my hips in time with him to meet him at every thrust to increase pleasure._

"_Harder, harder, please for the love of god HARDER!" I screamed as once again I approached my climax. He obliged by thrusting harder and harder. I was in heaven as he started pumping furiously, feeding his own need. My anal walls tightened as I came into the sheets. _

_Komamura howled in pleasure as he came inside of me, I was quickly filled with his seed and it leaked out around his softening erection. He collapsed onto me and we lay there enjoying the moment of pure ecstasy._

_He mumbled in my ear after a while._

"_What did you say?" I asked still in perpetual bliss._

"_I said, it's time to wake up." He said in my ear._

"_What do you -," I cut myself off as it dawned on me, "Oh, FUCK!"_

With those last words on my tongue I woke up to Komamura shaking me gently awake.

"Hiroshi, it's time to wake up we are going to start the third round soon." He saw the look of disappointment on my face. "Were you having a good dream?" He flashed me a knowing smile.

It was then that I felt the wet spot in my pants, _shit_.

"You talk in your sleep you know?" He said as his own chuckling shook his chest.

_Double shit!_

He handed me a piece of cloth to clean myself up with. "You could say it was a good dream."

"Was I in it?" He asked coyly.

"I think you already know the answer to that." I say wiping at my pants frantically.

"Yes, but I would like to hear you say it." He said persistently.

I blushed deeply, "Yes you were in it."

He leaned down and gently nipped at my ear, "Glad to hear it."

My whole face must have looked like a tomato as I tried desperately to clean up the mess; when I was satisfied I handed him back the cloth.

I stood up and stretched out. Komamura stood up beside me kissed me on the cheek. "I will leave you to get ready; it probably won't look to good if we came out together like this. You come out after me."

"Okay, see you out there." I responded. When he was gone I let myself smile. His pants were strained ever so slightly around his crotch.

_At least it isn't once sided,_ I thought to myself.

I waited for five minutes and then walked out into the sunlight, ready to face the next challenge ahead of me.


	12. Don't Touch That!

Everyone in the arena turned I toward me when I stepped out into the arena. I stopped and felt everyone's gaze on me; hundreds of eyes bored into me and I started to sweat, _Oh fuck what now?_

Everyone stood up and I flinched thinking I was about to pelted with another barrage of pebbles. A loud roar of applause erupted from the stands, even the students were clapping. I stood there dumbstruck as the sound reverberated through the ground and bounced off the walls. I looked at the other participants and captains and they were all giving polite applause as well.

The kid from earlier came running toward me, he probably knew I was confused about the whole ordeal; when he finally reached me he started dragging me to the center of the arena.

"What happened?" I asked fearing I was still dreaming.

The boy just laughed as he brought me to the center, "You were the best fighter out of everyone! This is the people's way of showing admiration."

"What about them?" I ask indicating the people who had stoned me earlier, and the people at the outside.

"Power is popularity, and you have no absence of power, as you have just shown." He said laughing, as he walked away.

I looked around and saw a few other people at the center with me.

"We are the top contestants." A girl said to me kindly, oddly enough she was one of the people who mocked me constantly. "You are number one." She finished.

"But, I lost my fight." I say.

She laughed, "We all did, but you were the closest to winning; in fact, if you were fighting anyone else you probably would have won." She looked at me for a second with a weird look.

"What?" I ask feeling self-conscious.

"Nothing, it's just that you're kinda cute." She said winking at me.

I gave her a steady gaze, "You didn't seem to think so before."

She waved away my comment, "That was before, this is now."

_Power is popularity; I guess you were right kid. Still it is nice not to be completely hated by the populace; even if this girl is barking up the wrong tree._ I chuckled at my own little pun.

"What's funny?" The girl said, obviously flirting.

"Nothing just a lame joke that popped into my mind." I say with a faint smile on my lips.

"If you say so." She said shrugging me off.

We stood there for a bit longer and were showered with applause and praise from the crowd. When the crowd had finally calmed down Captain-commander Yamamoto stood in front of us and addressed the audience, "These are the top contestants so far; these individuals have excelled at both challenges and are guaranteed a spot in the Gotei 13. They will be given the option to continue with the program or they may stop now. The final challenge will begin immediately!"

I turned and saw the smug looks of those around me and heard them all talking about how they were going to stop here since they were already guaranteed a spot anyway.

"Hey you, kid with the freaky eyes!" One of the kids called over to me.

"My name is Hiroshi." I tell him.

They all looked at me as if we were old friends who had been companions for years. The boy cleared his throat, "Pleased to meet you Hiroshi, my name is Chiba." He said offering me his hand.

I took it. "It's nice to make your acquaintance." _You spiteful bastard._

"Want to come with us to this awesome restaurant not far from here; we are all guaranteed a spot anyway lets go have some fun to celebrate." He asked me, again pretending to be a life-long friend.

"No thanks, I don't believe in doing things halfway. I am going to stick around and finish this up." I say politely.

"Why bother?" The girl who was flirting with me asked, "With your power and abilities you are guaranteed a seat position."

"Like I said before, I don't believe in doing things halfway; I intend to finish what I started." I say again.

Another girl rolled her eyes, "You are a serious buzz-kill; but I guess you can't help it being anti-social and all."

I narrowed my gaze at her and others sucked in a breath as they realized what she said, "I apologize for not running to the people who attacked me ON A DAILY BASIS! I am sorry for being a person who sees things through, because that was what kept him sane when he was avoiding said people. I mean, how dare I feel even slightly uncomfortable with the people who have harassed me endlessly for the past three years; and are now just taking an interest in me because of my power."

They were all shocked speechless at that little outburst. I turned my back on them and addressed Captain Yamamoto, "I will be staying to complete the program" I yell to him. He nodded his understanding and went about his business. "Now if you will excuse me." I say to the group behind me.

As I walked away I heard their murmured whispers, "That guy needs to lighten up." One of them said,

"I can't believe I actually thought he was cute."

"Did you see how he shot me down; five bucks says the guy is gay."

I ignored all of them and went on my way; I found the kid just sitting by himself and made a beeline toward him.

"Hey!" I shouted, making sure everyone knew I was talking to him. _At the very least people won't mess with him._

He waved a bit and then noticed what I was doing. He gave me a slight nod of thanks.

I reached him in no time with people staring the entire way. "You didn't make the cut?" I asked quietly.

"Nope I choked on the fight, I was supposed to fight the captain of squad 10; but I freaked and he had me beat in three seconds flat." He said in embarrassment.

"That sucks. Well at least it was better than the first match." I say trying to crack a joke to lighten the mood.

He laughed a little bit, "I guess that's true."

I flopped down next to him, "You aren't missing much over there, it's just a bunch of pretentious assholes that need to have the shit beat out of them."

"Wow, you are really aggressive." He laughed.

"I know, I think I'm bipolar I should get tested." I say laughing with him.

"Well I still have one more shot; and if I fail I can always just graduate on time." He said. We sat there a minute just enjoying each other's company, "Oh fuck." He said suddenly.

"What?" I ask.

"We don't even know each other's names." He said.

I laugh, "Well my name is Hiroshi; but I think you may have established that by now."

"Well now its official, pleased to meet you Hiroshi; my name is Yamada" He said shaking my hand.

I laugh again.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Nothing, just a déjà vu moment." I explained. "Although I hope it doesn't play out the same way.

"Of course you don't, life would be boring if it happened like that." He laughed.

"It certainly would." I looked out at the remaining people, there were seventeen people left including myself. "It's an odd number." I say out loud.

"What do you mean?" Yamada asked.

"The remaining people, there are only seventeen people left total; that's an odd number." I explain.

"So?" Yamada persisted still not knowing where this was going.

"So, there aren't enough people to keep an even number of people in the teams." I explain.

He looked around and counted for himself, "You're right, I wonder what they will do about that."

"It looks like we are about to find out." I say pointing to Captain Yamamoto as he started to speak.

"The third and final round will begin now! All, but one, of our top ranks have chosen to omit the final stage. Hiroshi Osamu has decided to stay and complete the third round." The crowd of shinigami roared their approval. Yamamoto turned to the people who decided to leave early, "You are dismissed." They all nodded and then left the arena. "Since there are an uneven number of contestants left we will have to work out with one group of three. The contestants will be allowed to choose their partners for this challenge. They will have ten minutes to form teams and then the details will be given on what to do next." He turned toward us, "Your time starts now!"

The words were barely out of his mouth when a swarm of people came over to me asking to be my partner; they shoved an indignant Yamada out of the way.

The guy with the weasel face parted the crowd and walked to me, "I've decided to let you be my partner." He said this as if it were some big honor or something.

I rolled my eyes at him, "No thanks. I will have to decline that oh so generous offer."

I got up and dusted off my pants and made my way to Yamada, "Hey Yamada! Will you be my partner?"

He just looked at me, "You sure you want a runt with ya?"

"Nope, but I don't see a runt here, do you?" I laugh.

"Whatever it's your funeral." He sighed; and then smiled, "I would love to be your partner."

"If it does turn into one I expect no less than a dozen roses." I joke as I offer him a hand up.

"You'll get eleven." He said taking my outstretched hand.

"Cheapskate." I laugh.

The other people still pestered saying that there was supposed to be one group of three people. I held up my hand and pointed at Yamada, "Look at him, he's in charge. Ask him!"

He gave me a dirty look, "Thanks for throwing me under the bus." He whispered.

"Anytime." I whispered back.

He looked at the people, who glared back at him. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw three people in a corner, "Looks like we already have a group of three, sorry."

The others turned and saw the trio. They all exchanged defeated looks and dispersed into their own teams.

"So I'm in charge?" Yamada asks smiling.

"Completely, I'll be the muscle." I retort.

"I'm good with that." He mused.

After the ten minutes we all grouped around Yamamoto who started giving instructions on what was supposed to be done. "You and your partner will be tested in cooperative capabilities, as a member of Gotei 13 you must be able to fight alongside your comrades without fail. Each team will be assigned to a captain and will be given tasks to complete. Your job is to complete the task at hand efficiently and quickly. No two teams will be assigned the same task; so you will not ride along on another team's success. I will be here and your assigned captain will inform me if you pass or fail." He finished and waited a bit for it to sink in, "A captain will come to your group and that will be who judges you. Those of you who think you can bribe a captain better think again, any attempts at that will result in immediate termination from the program! Spread out and wait for your captain to arrive and you will start on my mark."

We all dispersed and went our own ways; Yamada and I found a nice patch of shade to wait in. I watched as the crowd filling the stands started to leave and return to their own business. I looked at the other groups and noticed that captains were already starting to arrive; to my dismay I saw Komamura paired with the weasel kid.

"Hey it looks like the kid is heading our way." Yamada whispered.

I looked and sure enough a kid about our age with white hair and turquoise eyes was walking to us.

When he arrived he looked us over, "My name is Tõshirõ Hitsugaya, and I am the captain of squad 10; you will address me as Captain Hitsugaya and nothing else. I am the captain in charge of overseeing your team in your tasks."

"Pleased to meet you, my name Is Yamada Masato; and this is my partner Hiroshi Osamu" Yamada said introducing the both of us.

He gave Yamada a look and then turned his attention to me, "You were one of the people who were given the opportunity to omit; why didn't you do it?

"I don't believe in doing things halfway." I state simply.

He nodded, "That is a good reason. On to business, you two will locate and capture my lieutenant Rangiku Matsumoto. She was last seen at squad 9 headquarters with Lieutenant Shuhei Hisagi."

"Are you serious?" Yamada asked.

A small smile forced itself onto Hitsugaya's face. "Quite, catch her and bring her here within the next two hours. Please refrain from unnecessary destruction; but you may use force if needed. You may begin."

Yamada and I looked at each other, before heading off to the barracks.

We ran and made it to squad 9 headquarters within 15 minutes. I asked around to see if anyone knew where Matsumoto was; we were told she was last seen at the lieutenant's office at the center of the compound. We ran around until we found it; we knocked on the door and were allowed to come in. We came into the room and saw a man and woman sitting across from each other; the woman was completely wasted and barely able to sit up.

"We were instructed to bring Lieutenant Matsumoto to Captain Hitsugaya as quickly as possible." Yamada explained.

The woman whose back was to us turned around in a flash and hugged Yamada to her chest, "NO!" she slurred, "I don't want to go!" she finished by crushing Yamada into her oversized breasts. When she let him go he gasped and fell down to the ground with the world's biggest nose bleed.

I looked at him and tried to suppress a laugh.

"Shut the fuck up!" He yelled getting to his feet. He wiped his face and then turned back to Matsumoto who was scratching at something inside of her cleavage. Yamada's nose started to bleed again and he whirled on me, "You do this!"

I laughed at the amount of blood rushing to his face, "Okay." I settled down and walked over to her, "Lieutenant Matsumoto, Captain Hitsugaya has asked that we escort you to the squad seven arena so he may talk to you."

Matsumoto was clearly not paying attention; at that moment she looked over at Yamada and realized he was staring at her chest, "PERVERT!" she screamed as she slapped him across the face. Yamada flew across the room and hit the wall with a solid thud. With a humph she sat down across from a bemused man with purple hair who must be Lieutenant Hisagi.

I walked over to Yamada and helped him to his feet, "You okay?" I ask him as I got a good look at the handprint on the side of his face.

"How come you don't get hurt?" He asked rubbing his mark.

"I don't get hurt because I don't get caught staring" I say.

"Shut up!" He said his whole face turning darker than where he got slapped.

"Well I may have a plan if you want to hear it?" I say all joking aside.

"Whatever let's just get it over with." Yamada said, his face returning to its original shade.

"All right, here's what we have to do. . ." I say whispering the instructions to Yamada.

His face drained of all color as I told him what we were going to do, "You know the chances of us surviving that is slim to none, right?"

I smile at him, "For you at least; but don't worry I got your back."

He let out a sigh and then spoke, "Let's get it over with."

********************************************************** Time lapse

"Growl, Haineko!" Matsumoto screamed as we ran from her furious onslaught of attacks.

We were both out of breath by now and my energy was almost depleted.

"She made another wall of ash!" Yamada asked.

"Shakkahõ!" I yelled and blew apart the wall enough to run through. "We wouldn't be in this situation if you hadn't squeezed her boob!"

"I told you I tripped!" He cried desperately.

What had happened was that I told Yamada to steal the sake and then Matsumoto would chase us down drunk trying to get it back; but when he went to take it he tripped over a stack of papers on the ground in front of him, he flung out his hands to grab onto something and ended up with both hands grasping firmly on Matsumoto's breasts. She was pissed and attacked instantly; she unsheathed her sword and started slashing at Yamada, I got in the way and we ran.

"Well at least she is so focused on chasing us she doesn't seem to notice that we are heading in the right way." Yamada said trying to make a joke.

"This is taking too long; Shakkahõ!" I scream making a hole in the wall in front of us. We jumped through and ran at an even faster pace; we were still a mile away from our destination.

We ran past startled shinigami who were plowed down as Matsumoto ran after us. I looked back and it looked like she was running out of steam.

"It looks like she is slowing down." I look at my timer and see we only have forty minutes left. "We need her to hurry up."

"I know what to do." Yamada said giving me an evil grin. He turned his head over his shoulder and screamed, "Hey lieutenant, my friend here says your fat and old!"

She stood there processing what had just been said and then her face and gaze went icy.

"You asshole!" I scream running as he stands there laughing.

"I'll see you there!" he called out as Matsumoto ran past with death in her gaze.

I turn and ran as the crazed psycho chased me down. _Why am I running?_ I focused and then started using flash step to get ahead.

"THAT WON'T SAVE YOU!" Matsumoto yelled from behind me.

I was just outside the gates to the arena when I felt her tackle me from behind. We were both sent flying through the entrance and into the arena. I hit the ground with her on top of me, "NOW APOLOGIZE!" she screamed forcing my face into the dirt.

"I didn't call you old! My friend is lying!" I scream gasping for air, "GET OFF OF ME!"

She looked at me and saw I was speaking the truth. She got up and dusted off her pants. "Why did you want me out here anyway?"

"They were instructed to bring you here by me." Hitsugaya explained from the stands. "What is wrong with you Matsumoto? You look flushed.

"Don't ask." Yamada said strolling in.

"Why shouldn't-. " Hitsugaya began; but was interrupted as Rangiku punched Yamada square in the face.

Yamada stood up with effort and shot Matsumoto a look, "We brought her here, with as little damage as humanly possible. Did we pass?"

Hitsugaya responded, "Be here tomorrow at eight o'clock."

Yamada and I exchanged looks of pure joy.

"Now than" Hitsugaya began, "did you finish the paperwork Matsumoto?"


	13. A pointless party

I was walking back to the squad seven barracks when I heard the sound of running feet behind me; I turned and saw Yamada booking it towards me. "What is it?" I ask.

"Where are you going?" He asked.

"To the squad seven barracks." I explained.

He looked at me and then shook his head, "There is a party later tonight hosted by the Captain-commander everyone is going, even the captains; are you going to go? This is also a way for everyone to find out about each other; you know, seeing what squad you will join."

I thought about it a while, "I guess I will go; but I will have to raid my clothes for something to wear."

He laughed, "You and I both!" He then stopped and sniffed the air, "But first we are both in strong need of a shower"

"Agreed; I will see you there!" I say running off.

"It's at Squad one barracks at nine!" Yamada yelled going his own way back to the academy.

I waved to him, showing I heard him; I turned a corner and ran right into Komamura's furry chest.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?" growled an amused voice.

"To the nearest shower." I say smiling up at him, "Care to join?"

His chest rumbled a bit, "An interesting proposition; but I must decline."

"Why is that?" I say not really minding.

"It's a surprise. Go get yourself cleaned up and I should have everything ready when you are done."

"Okay, see you then." I was about to walk away; when a heavily muscled arm wrapped itself around my waist. I smiled and turned around just in time for Komamura's kiss to find my lips. We stood there for a moment before Komamura Gently placed me back down on the ground.

"Now, you can go." He whispered in my ear.

I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as I started to continue on my way. _Still something I'm not entirely used to; but I still like it._ I made it back to Komamura's quarters without incident. I walked into the small apartment and found Iba already sitting at the desk doing paperwork.

When I came in he looked up and smiled, "That was an amazing match."

"You saw it?" I ask feeling slightly self-conscious.

"Everybody saw it; and once again it was an amazing match, you fought spectacularly!" Iba said excitedly.

"I still lost and I need to work on my technique." I say feeling a bit uncomfortable.

"If you stop trying to improve you will never really amount to anything." Iba said sagely.

I sighed, "True enough; I don't mean to be rude, but I am in desperate need of a shower."

He laughed, "Say no more, the room connected to Captain Komamura's room is the bathroom."

"Thank you." I say and then rush to the bathroom.

I looked around the giant room and was astounded by the sheer size of it. _Idiot Komamura has to be able to fit into it, so of course it's going to be a big room!_ I made my way to a gargantuan shower and turned on the hot water, soon the area was filled with steam; I stripped naked and immersed myself into the scalding water. I found some shampoo and lathered my dirty hair until I was sure all the dirt and sweat had been removed; I then shifted my focus to my body and was astounded at how much filth there was on me. I scrubbed myself for about ten minutes before I was satisfied and then I just let myself soak in the water. Outside I heard Komamura's voice as he greeted Iba; I was still just soaking in the water as I heard the door to the bathroom open and Komamura walked in.

"When you are done in there, there are some new clothes for you out here." He said.

"Actually I've been done for a while I just felt like soaking for a bit." I said.

"Well then I will be waiting." Komamura said gently shutting the door.

I waited a bit longer under the pouring water and then turned it off. I found a towel hanging next to a bag with my name scrawled on it. I toweled off and made sure that I was completely clean. I took a breath and opened the bag and found a beautifully tailored Hakama with a white top and black bottom. The top was laced with copper and crème vines that bloomed golden flowers. The Kimono was a soft gray pinstripe with a wolf's head on the collar.

I stared at my outfit a bit longer and then slipped it on; to my surprise it fit me perfectly, Komamura had taken great care in getting it made. At the bottom of the bag was a haori my size with the same wolf insignia; I slipped on the final pieces of my garb and found a place where I could strap my Zanpakutõ.

I walked out into the room and saw Komamura lying on his back on the bed. When I was standing by him he sat up and looked me up and down. "It looks a lot better than I thought it would." He said studying me.

"I like it; the designs are perfect and it's comfortable. My favorite though is the wolf head." I tell him as I fingered my collar.

"I'm glad to hear it." He said.

I flopped down next to him and let out a contended sigh, "It feels good to finally have that stuff behind me."

"It's not over yet; there is still the ceremony tomorrow and the party tonight." Komamura said absently stroking my face.

"Speaking of which, aren't you going to dress up?" I ask him eyeing his robes.

"No, the captains don't usually dress up for these events. Does the way I dress bother you?" He asked with a lazy smile touching his face.

"Not at all." I say immediately. We lay there for a bit with him gently stroking my cheek with one of his fingers. "Do the candidates choose what squad they join; or is it just the captains who make the decisions?"

"The candidates get to choose from a selection of squads that will have them. I would say it comes down to both of them. This party is just a way to see how you would act outside of battle." Komamura said as he stopped caressing my face. "Do you have any preferences?" He asked trying to make it look like he didn't care.

"Well," I say sitting up and snuggling against his warm body, "I was thinking that Ukitake was a pretty cool person, than there is Hitsugaya who seems like an interesting character."

"I see." Komamura said with a sour expression on his face.

I laugh, "I'm just kidding, I have one squad I would specifically want to join and that is the honorable Squad seven; but I am not sure the captain will take to me, what do you think?"

He relaxed, "I think that could be arranged. I know for a fact the captain would be thrilled to have you as a part of his squad."

I pulled up my feet and leaned into Komamura's side. "I like it here. I'm happy." I close my eyes and let myself relax.

"It makes me glad to hear you say that." Komamura said putting his arm around me. "I definitely enjoy having you around"

We were both content with sitting there when a light knock came through the door, "Captain Komamura sir; if you are going to attend the party you two should probably get going."

"I'd be good with staying here." I say cuddling with Komamura.

"That doesn't sound too bad to me either; but both of us are expected to be there." Komamura sighed. He unwrapped his arm from around me and stood up, stretching. I followed his example and then stared at him.

I noticed the skin that was tight over muscle, the coat of fur covering him completely, the way he carried himself with strength and confidence, and the eyes that looked like a molten gold mixed with compassion, kindness, and sorrow; noticing the sorrow I wanted to find out what was wrong and hold him to me to make him feel better, but I respected him too much to do something like that.

"Shall we go then?" I ask getting up and stretching my tight muscles.

"I suppose so." Komamura said readjusting his haori.

"Thank you for the clothes." I say as I straighten my own haori out.

"I couldn't help but notice that you didn't have anything to wear so I took the liberty of getting you something."

"I appreciate it." I say grabbing my Zanpakutõ and sliding it into the band around my waist.

"You're bringing it with you?" Komamura asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Of course I am; if it weren't for **her** I probably wouldn't have passed the fighting round." I made sure to put extra emphasis on the word her, "Besides, I never know when I might be attacked." I finish as I adjust Kagami so it sits more comfortably on my hip.

"Well said, I wasn't complaining; just curious." Komamura said placing his hand on his own Zanpakutõ.

We both got to the door and came out into the main room where Iba was sitting doing paperwork. "You aren't coming to the party?" I ask.

"Nope, that is for the contestants and the captains only." Iba said without really looking up from his work.

"We'll be back late Tetsuzaemon, don't stay up too late." Komamura said reaching for the door.

"Don't worry about me sir, I won't overdo it." Iba said finishing a document.

"See you later Lieutenant Iba." I call as Komamura and I head out into the crisp night air. He just waved.

We made our way out of the compound and headed to the first squad's barracks. We didn't talk and on the way we passed by Captain Unohona who said she was making a quick stop at someone's house and would be at the party later; we both nodded and then went on our way. I was in my own little world, thinking about the dream I had had earlier, when a pink-haired bullet tackled me from behind.

"HIRO!" the lieutenant from squad eleven yelled.

I picked myself up and caught the breath that had been driven from my lungs when she knocked me to the ground. "Hello, lieutenant." I say after I had finally gotten a breath. I looked down and saw some dust on the haori Komamura had just got me; I patted it and managed to get it off before it could stain. I looked up and saw her holding out her hand expectantly; I rolled my eyes and dropped a piece of butterscotch into her palm. She screamed with joy and ran back in the direction she came from. "She's a little odd." I mutter despite myself.

Komamura was stiff and then turned around as a giant shadow separated itself from the wall behind us. I turned and watched as a tall muscular man made his way to us with the pink haired girl hanging from his shoulder.

He flashed us a manic smile and then focused on me, "You're the kid who hospitalized that noble brat aren't you?" He asked.

"Yes, that would be me." I say as I realize that this was the captain of squad eleven, the one the girl called Kenny.

His smile widened and his hand went to his sword, "I see you already have your sword with you, that means we can go ahead and have some fun right now."

I swear the guy looked like he was two seconds away from foaming out the mouth like a rabid dog, "I don't know what you mean." I lied.

The guy laughed, it was the laugh of the criminally insane that should be put down immediately, before he could hurt someone. "What I mean is that I want to fight you." He had his sword drawn as the last word fell from his lips. "What do you say?"

Komamura had his hand tight on his sword's hilt. _This guy won't give up until he gets what he wants, that much is clear; I don't want to fight him, at least not without a medical technician standing by. Komamura looks like he is ready to kill the guy; but I don't want Komamura to get hurt._ I snapped my fingers as I came up with my idea. Komamura shot me a look; but I waved it off.

"Sure, I'll fight you." I said. The maniac's eye lit up like a Christmas tree, "but not tonight; and when I do there better be someone from squad four nearby, and finally I want an open space where people won't go flying through buildings." I list the demands.

He seemed a little deflated when I mentioned squad four and the fact it would not happen tonight; but he seemed thrilled at the realization he would get what he wanted, "Deal!" without another word the couple went on their way to the party.

"What were you thinking?" Komamura growled angrily.

"I was thinking that guy is a lunatic that probably wouldn't be satisfied until someone was cut up into hunks of meat; and that I don't want to see you get hurt over something so stupid." I say as I continue walking.

Komamura was right beside me, "But now you will get hurt. I'm built stronger than you it will take a lot more for me to get injured than you."

"Exactly, he knows I'm strong; but he doesn't know if I can take a punch or not; I'm counting on the fact that he will hold back until I prove to him that I am tough. My body responds to reiatsu and treatment a lot more effectively than yours does, I can be healed by kidõ more efficiently than you can." Komamura still didn't seem happy. "Not to mention the fact that I will have someone from squad four call the match off if it gets to serious; I am hoping Captain Unohona will be the one."

Komamura let out a sigh and said we should go before we are late. We made it to the gates of the barracks without further delay. We arrived at the gates with a bunch of other people already waiting there. I smiled over at Yamada and waved at him; he looked at me and then gave me thumbs up as he saw my outfit. He was dressed up in a Hakama similar to mine, but his was solid black with a single silver rose over the chest, I returned the gesture.

"Go ahead and join him and I will see you when the party ends." Komamura whispered so only I would hear what he was saying. Without another word he walked off and waited by himself over in a corner.

Yamada made his way over to me and once again appraised my clothes. "That's an awesome outfit. It's pretty high quality; that must have cost a fortune to be made." He looked at my collar, "What is that?" I turned around and showed him the twin logo on the back of my haori. He let out a low whistle and then chuckled, "That's awesome; how's that for irony?"

"Your clothes look pretty cool to; it's very simple, I like it." I say truthfully.

"Thanks!" Yamada exclaimed.

"Hey dogface!" Someone behind me yelled.

I cringed a little and looked over my shoulder; I saw that the person who spoke was one of the people who elected to leave early. He was hanging out with his friends, the other people who elected to leave early. They were all laughing quietly at his exclamation.

He took this as encouragement, "Nice jacket; I think it really captures what your all about."

"Don't let him antagonize you." Yamada whispered in my ear.

"Is your boyfriend giving you advice?" The douche asked again.

A vein started to pulse in Yamada's forehead.

"Don't let him antagonize you." I say laughing.

Yamada glared at me, "Shut up!"

Despite his anger he still took my advice and calmed down.

"What's with the haori Hiroshi? You look like some captain poser!"

"It's part of the outfit; someone special bought it for me." I say rubbing the fabric of the haori between two of my fingers. I looked at him closely and saw the flush in his cheeks and the glazed over haze in his eyes, "You're drunk." I say with a tinge of disgust in my voice. I looked at the rest of the people in his little band and saw the same flush and glazed look, "You're all wasted. You don't have much respect do you? It is quite insulting to the host to show up intoxicated."

They all stared at me blankly. The girl who flirted with me earlier piped up, "Shut up you stupid fag! You are a serious buzz kill with a stick up your ass; learn to lighten up!"

I stare at her with enough venom to take down a bull; she just smirked, "What? Are you upset because now your little secret is out? I know your'e gay." I started to panic slightly, "I mean how else would you turn me down?"

When she finished I laughed; I couldn't stop myself and I started doubling over as my sides started to hurt, "That's the second best thing I've heard since I got here." I wiped a stray tear from my cheek and broke into another chuckling fit, "I turned you down because you are a stuck up pretentious bitch, who needs to learn to keep he legs together around the guys she met." Her mouth fell open in a shocked "O"; I turned around and tried not to laugh as I saw the mixed expressions on everyone's faces. A rock whistled right by my ear; I turned back around with a playful smile on my face. Another rock flew and almost hit my face.

The girl was a violent shade of red as she bent down to pick up another rock. She flung the rock at my face and I disappeared right before it made contact; I reappeared and took hold of her arm and I was right in her face with murder in my eyes.

"You will not touch me ever again. If you so much as look at me the wrong way I will break you!" I hissed into her ear so no one would hear. "I've put up with your shit long enough and will not stand for it anymore!" the color drained from her face and she started shaking in fear as my threat finally processed, "Spread the word." With that I walked back to Yamada.

I stopped for a second and looked at my hand, _what was that?_ I was put off; I had been angry before, but this was different. This was bloodlust. I shook my head and made my way back to Yamada. He looked as shocked as I felt.

A small smile spread across his face, "That was awesome!" He encouraged quietly.

"No it wasn't" I looked down at my hands again, "it was scary as hell."

He tilted his head sideways like a dog and gave me a questioning look, "What do you mean?"

I clenched my hand into a fist and dropped it back down to my side, "Nothing, I guess I'm still wired from the whole fight and chase thing."

Before Yamada could speak the gate to the barracks opened and we all filed in; we were met and escorted by Captain Yamamoto. He led us into a hall that had tables pushed to the side and an open area for us to talk and cut up.

Yamamoto turned and addressed the twenty candidates as the captains walked to a table at the front of the room. "There are designated places for you each to sit; in your seat you will find a flower from each of the squads that have chosen to accept you. There will be a chart telling you which flower belongs to which squad. Tonight you should take the opportunity to meet with the captain of the squad and discuss. Your choices are limited to the flowers you receive; therefore if you do not receive a flower from a squad you will not be given the opportunity to join said squad. Decisions will not be made tonight, you will be given the rest of the night and part of tomorrow to choose which squad you would like to join. All decisions will be made at the ceremony at eight o'clock tomorrow morning. You are dismissed to find your place.

I looked around until I found my name plate and looked at the flowers in my seat. I saw a pasque flower, a bellflower, an Iris, a daffodil, a thistle, and a snowdrop. I looked at the chart and saw that the squads I got were: 2, 4, 7, 10, 12, and 13. _Six potential squads._ I look at the directory that tells me which captains lead which divisions; I saw Kurotsuchi's name and then very slowly put the flower into my neighbor's seat before they got there.

I decided to humor the people and talk to the captains, knowing full well that I would join squad seven tomorrow. I decided to work my way from lower numbers to higher ones. I made my way to Captain Ukitake who was already surrounded by a flock of people, it seemed that he sent a flower to just about everyone; I made my way to him and he smiled.

"Hello Hiroshi, how are you doing?" he asked.

"Hello to you as well Captain Ukitake, I am doing well; are you feeling better?" I ask remembering the blood spewing from his mouth earlier.

His cheeks went red as he scratched the back of his head, "I'm feeling much better now; and don't worry if I start feeling ill I will sit down." He laughed in embarrassment.

"Well I hope it doesn't come to that." I laugh.

"That makes two of us." Ukitake laughed with me.

"It was nice to talk with you; but I think I will leave you alone now, it looks like your hands are full." I say waving to him.

_That's one down and seven to go._ I made my way to Hitsugaya next and saw that Yamada was there as well.

"Hello, Captain Hitsugaya." I say as I got within earshot of the boy captain.

"Hello, Osamu." Hitsugaya said, "I'm glad to see you received our token."

"Why did you choose us?" Yamada said, being blunt. "I thought you didn't like us.

"In all honesty I don't; but you two performed the task excellently and with skill. Even Matsumoto agreed that Osamu did an excellent job."

Yamada, who was slightly drunk as I just noticed, said, "So what did jugs say about me?"

Hitsugaya gave him a withering glance, "She said you were an 'annoying unprofessional pervert, who would lose an arm the next he touched her'. While you did get results I would ask you not to harass my lieutenant."

Yamada snapped out of his little stupor, "Understood Captain Hitsugaya."

Hitsugaya rolled his eyes, "Still, the squad would improve greatly if you two joined; I hope you consider." Hitsugaya said as he walked away.

"You made quite the impression." I whispered to Yamada.

"I would like to think so." Yamada joked.

"So who did you get?" I ask noticing the small bouquet of flowers in his grasp.

"Squad 13, 12, 11, 10, 7, and 4. How about you?" He asked.

"Squad 13, 12, 10, 7, 4, and 2" I told him.

He let out a low whistle, "You are quite the popular man." He said.

A slight rose blush colored my cheeks, "I got rid of 12 immediately, the captain freaks me out."

"I don't blame you; I heard rumors that he turned the people in his squad into living bombs." Yamada said shuddering.

"I met him at my hearing; he probably would." I say remembering him offering to 'modify' me.

"I'm heading to Captain Komamura right now, you care to join me?" I ask.

"Nah, the captain seems kinda scary and intimidating." Yamada said.

I laughed a little, "Not at all he is actually quite nice; the people in his squad are fond of him."

He gave me a look, "Fine I'll go; but if he tries to eat me I'm throwing you in front of me." He joked and the laughed.

I didn't. "Don't make that kind of joke, you never know when he may hear you." I say adding a creepy note into my voice.

He looked at me like I was a freak, "You're weird; but I see your point. I'll be good."

We made our way over to Captain Komamura, "Hey Captain Komamura!" I said as we got closer to him.

He looked in our direction, "Hello you two." He looked in our hands and saw the flowers in our hands. "I see you got our invitation." He seemed to take notice of Yamada's trembling hand and white knuckles. He seemed slightly deflated.

_Idiot! I told you he won't hurt you._ I let out a sigh, "So Captain Komamura why did you send us the tokens?" I asked more for Yamada's sake than my own.

Komamura looked at me questioningly; I looked at Yamada really quick and he seemed to understand, "I saw the way you two had fought and handled yourselves; you didn't result to any underhanded tricks and you did the best you could do, that is something that our squad admires."

Yamada picked up a little at this, "What did you think of the fights?"

Komamura lightened up a bit as Yamada stopped looking like he was going to pee himself, "The fights were spectacular, the two of you have great potential and could improve greatly. Your teamwork could use a bit of improvement; but you were by far one of the best couplings for the exercise."

"Thanks, that means a lot coming from a captain!" Yamada said, all previous traces of fear gone, "What does your squad focus on? I mean what purpose: like squad four does healing and squad 12 does R&D."

"There aren't any special duties as far as that goes, squad seven is full of sincere, unpretentious people who focus on strong morals." Komamura said with pride at the last part.

Yamada looked at a wall clock and nudged me, we had been talking to Komamura for fifteen minutes and the period for it was almost over.

"It was nice to talk with you Captain Komamura." Yamada said bowing, "I am certainly going to consider squad seven."

I winked at Komamura, "Me as well."

"It was nice talking to you two; I hope you enjoy the rest of the night." Komamura said.

"We will!" Yamada said as we made our way to our next destinations. All of Yamada's nervousness was completely gone. "I think I will go see what Squad eleven has to offer, see you later."

"Good luck with that." I say as he walks away.

I look around and talk to the other captains and get a basic outline of what they are about. Squad four seemed okay, but not something I would want to do; same could be said of squad 2.

I made my way over to my seat and let out an exasperated breath. _This is completely unnecessary I already know what squad I plan on joining so why can't I just leave._


	14. I love you too SEX ALERT

This is only my second lemon chapter ever so i am still a bit new at it; but i think i did better than last time.

Sorry it took me so long to update. My flashdrive crashed and then my computer got a virus. Something seemed hellbent on me not finishing this chapter but i did it! so i hope you enjoy it.

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><p>I was still griping to myself when music started to play; almost everyone paired up immediately, Yamada had paired up with a random girl from the academy. A small smile touched my lips as I saw Komamura dancing with Unohona; despite the fact that Komamura was twice her size it seemed that Unohona was the one leading. I watched as a slow dance started and everyone held their partner close to them, a slight pang of jealousy went through me. I was still watching as Unohona tilted her head back and smiled at Komamura before saying something to him that I could not hear.<p>

Komamura's ear twitched and then he looked over at me, he leaned down and whispered something back to Unohona; she just nodded and smiled. He broke apart from her and headed for an open door at the back of the ballroom; he beckoned for me to follow him before disappearing into the darkness of the night.

I waited for a few minutes and then got up and stretched out my legs before following him. I walked outside and stood there for a minute letting myself be engulfed in the feeling of the area; the air was warm and carried the scent of cinnamon and herb, the moonlight bathed everything in its silvery glow, there was a small wood in front of me that danced with the breeze and music that drifted from inside. I walked forward and let the miniscule forest capture me, it was beautiful and vibrant with life; I jumped when I felt Komamura's breath behind me and his arm slowly ensnaring my waist. I looked up at him and rubbed my cheek against a furry hand that was on my shoulder. He turned me around and gently placed a kiss on my mouth; I gasped as I saw how he looked under the moon's enchanting luminescence. Komamura's crème colored fur blazed like a miniature inferno, his copper fur gained a silvery luster and stood out in sharp contrast with his eyes which were a molten gold that were filled with love, tenderness, and desire.

I opened my mouth to tell him what I thought and then clamped it shut as I realized how foolish it would sound.

Komamura tilted his head to the side and looked at me before asking, "What is it?"

I shook my head, "Nothing, just something stupid; you would laugh." I said looking down.

Komamura took my chin with his thumb and forefinger and had his eyes bore into mine, "I would never laugh at you; now tell me what it was you were going to say."

"I was going to say that, with the light and everything, you looked beautiful." I said and then ducked my head again, feeling my face flush several shades deeper.

A low rumbling shook Komamura's chest; I looked up at him hurt, "You said you wouldn't laugh!"

My outburst elicited a small noise from his maw; before I could say anything he kissed me on the lips, introducing his tongue to mine. I immediately forgot what I was mad about and was shocked at the intrusion; but then I closed my eyes and relaxed, letting my tongue start to venture on its own. All too quickly Komamura broke the kiss.

"I wasn't laughing at you, just the irony of the situation."

I gave him a questioning look, still a little dazed from the amazing kiss.

He kissed me on the forehead before responding, "I was about to tell you the same thing."

I couldn't really say anything in response, _he thinks I am beautiful._

He kneeled down beside me, still a foot taller than me, and looked at me to see if he had said something wrong. When he was close enough I flung my arms around his neck and hugged him tightly; he moved his arms around my back and squeezed tightly, just under the point where it would be difficult to breathe.

He picked me up and started walking deeper into the cover of the trees; I nestled my head against his chest and could hear the steady _thump, thump_ of his beating heart. I closed my eyes and breathed in the air as I relaxed to the rhythm and motion of Komamura's steps. Komamura walked for a few more minutes and then gently set me down at the edge of a clearing; I opened my eyes and my breath caught in my chest as I took in the sight of what was around me. The trees formed a perfect O around a small pond that reflected the moon back unto itself, the grass was short and the roots of the trees were covered in a green blanket of moss. All life seemed to be in a sort of pause in this magical area; _it looks like something from a fairy tale a mother would read to her child._

Komamura sat down beside me and slung his arm over my side and brought me close to him; I took my usual spot cuddling with his chest. We stared out at the pond in silence for a couple of minutes, just enjoying the feeling of being close to each other; Komamura's hand started rubbing lazy circles on my arm. I let out a contended sigh and breathed in his scent, a light animal musk that filled my nostrils with its intoxicating qualities; Komamura's body shifted as he slid his hand into the folds of my Hakama, his fur bristled across my skin as if it carried a static charge. I moaned a little as his paw started to move across my chest, exploring the new area. I brought my hand up and gently placed it on his lap, tracing the abundant muscle through the thin cloth; a shiver ran up Komamura's body as he felt the contact. I shyly took my hand away.

"Don't stop." Komamura breathed gently.

I smiled a little and put my hand back where it was before and resumed running my finger along the slightly bulging muscles in his lower thigh. I was completely transfixed on the feeling that I had not noticed my hand rubbing along a slight firmness in his pants; I looked up at Komamura questioningly.

He just let his hand continue to explore my chest, occasionally teasing one of my nipples. I held my breath and started rubbing my hand directly on his throbbing crotch; a low moan liberated itself from Komamura's maw. I picked myself up from the ground, Komamura opened one of his eyes in question; I plopped myself down into his lap, facing him. I leaned my head forward and placed my lips gently onto his; he chuckled a little bit before bringing my body closer to his, smothering me in his warmth. The music from the hall drifted through, carried on the lazy breeze, I broke the kiss and looked at Komamura seriously.

"Can I ask something of you?" I ask him, whispering in the silent darkness.

"Anything." Komamura breathed.

"Will you dance with me?" I asked.

He looked at me before sighing, "I can't dance; but if it makes you happy I will endure." As he finished his sentence he set me down and stood up. He took my hand in his and walked toward the center of the clearing.

I laughed a little, "That's okay, I can't either; we will learn together." I say bouncing up and down, caught up in the magic of the moment.

"Or fail miserably." Komamura grumbled under his breath.

"Alright, no need to be pessimistic about it." I say playfully.

"I'm not; I'm being realistic." Komamura said before pulling me close to him.

He placed one of his hands on my shoulder and the other around my waist. We swayed for a bit just moving in time to the music as it filled the air; then Komamura moved me to the left and right and soon we were dancing, rather clumsily, through the little clearing.

I looked up at Komamura and smiled before saying, "Still think we are going to fail miserably?"

He just grunted in response and we continued to dance.

I looked up and stared at Komamura; his eyes were gently closed and he seemed to be humming something to himself. I once again took notice of the sheer size of him; he was over nine feet tall and despite that I was not intimidated, I took comfort in the fact that he so easily dominated me. I leaned my head back against Komamura's flat stomach, listening to his steady pulse. We danced for a little while longer but had to stop when I tripped over Komamura's foot and we ended up as a tangled mass on the ground.

"That is what I meant by failing miserably." Komamura said heaving himself up off of the ground.

I was about to say something when I saw the small smile on his face, "Well It could be worse; but I guess we probably should get a shower though." I finish as I saw the mud that had caked on Komamura's fur.

"That probably wouldn't be a bad idea." He said as he noticed a spot of dirt on the tip of my nose.

"Shall we go then?" I ask standing up.

"Might as well." Komamura said picking up his Zanpakutõ

I picked up Heiwa-Tekina Kagami and followed Komamura.

We arrived at the barracks without incident and went to Komamura's quarters where a sleeping Lieutenant Iba could be seen from behind a mountain of papers at Komamura's desk.

Komamura walked over to him and gently shook his shoulder, "Tetsuzaemon, why don't you go to your quarters and get some sleep; you've done more than enough and deserve to sleep in an actual bed."

Iba just grunted and stood up, heading for his quarters; as he left Komamura went to the door and locked it.

"That should prevent any unwanted disturbances." Komamura said as he turned to face me. "I am going to take a shower." He said heading for the bathroom.

I was going to ask him if it would be okay for me to join him and closed my mouth before it could slip out; then I thought _what the hell_, we were probably going to do more things than that.

"Komamura?" I ask trying to build up some courage.

"Yes?" He replied.

"Can- can I join you?" As the last word left my mouth I felt my face flush red.

Komamura turned toward me with a small smile on his face, "Yes, I would like that."

I smiled and rushed over to him. He slung his arm over my shoulder and brought me close as he led me to his giant bathroom.

He opened the door and led me in. He immediately started to take off his haori, letting it drop to the floor around his feet. I turned around and gave him a small amount of privacy, hoping he wouldn't notice the blush coloring my cheeks. I bent down and started untying my sandal straps; when that was done I turned around and my jaw almost hit the floor.

Komamura was standing with his back to me a couple of feet away, undoing the lower part of his Shinigami uniform; as it fell away revealing his naked body I had to pinch the bridge of my nose to prevent a fountain of blood from spewing. Komamura's body was covered in bulging muscle that rippled with the tinniest of movements, his fur covered him from head to foot and was a solid copper all the way down, his ass was **PERFECT** it was two round lumps of flesh that boasted their own masculinity, and finally HE HAD A TAIL! It was a wolf's tail that swished playfully in the air as he looked over his shoulder at me; he turned around and used his tail to cover up his crotch. I took in the front of his body and noticed the same amount of muscle that rippled with every movement, his chest was a solid hunk of muscle that rose and fell regularly with his breathing, the crème color of his fur reached from his lower muzzle and bloomed on his chest ending in sharply defined edges in the middle of his torso.

Without really noticing it, I stepped forward and started running my fingers through his soft fur, it felt like the fur of his hands and face but just a bit thinner. I looked down and couldn't contain my curiosity any longer; I gently nudged his tail out of the way. My eyes became the size of planets as I took in the sight of Komamura's penis; it was eleven inches long and five inches in girth AND STILL GROWING. I watched as it pulsed with the beating of his heart. Komamura didn't say anything as I continued to take in the sight of his body; a minute passed and Komamura gently touched my shoulder in silent question.

I slumped my shoulders and let my haori fall to the ground.

Komamura placed his hand on the inside of my Hakama's collar, "Are you sure you want to do this?" He breathed in my ear, the warm air making me shiver in excitement and anticipation.

"I'm a little nervous, but yes." I say.

"There is no need to be, if you are uncomfortable we will stop." He said gently.

"Thank you." I took a deep breath and then shrugged off the top of my Hakama.

Komamura didn't need any more encouragement and undid the sash at my waist letting the bottom of my outfit fall in a pool of fabric at our feet, leaving only my light kimono and underwear still on. Komamura removed the kimono with a flick of his wrist and then pulled me up into his arms; he kissed me gently and hooked a thumb under the waistband, removing my last article of clothing. I blushed as he looked at my entire body bared before him, I gasped a little as he ran a finger down my stomach and started to softly stroke my penis.

He chuckled a bit and walked us to the shower. When we got inside he set me down on the ground and started to rinse himself off. I did the same and soon all the caked dirt and grime was flowing down the drain. I grabbed some soap and started rubbing it into the fur on his stomach, I slid my hand down and started stroking his hardening member; a glob of precum started to ooze from his slit and I started pumping harder. Komamura stopped me and held my hand still. I took the hint and left it alone. I looked up at him and hugged him, he picked me up in an embrace and I wrapped my legs around his torso; I kissed him on the lips and he slid his tongue into my mouth gently. He grabbed a glob of soap and rubbed it into my hair, some of it getting into my eyes; scowling I shot my hand forward and pinched one of his nipples.

A startled yelp elicited itself from his lips; he leered at me evilly as I laughed, "You want to play like that, do you?"

I sucked in a breath as he grabbed both of my nipples and twisted them, hard. I gasped in surprise as his mouth enclosed one and he started licking and sucking on it, he finished by nipping at it and then turned his attention to the other pert nipple.

I yelped when his teeth grazed my sensitive skin, "All right you win!"

He chuckled menacingly, "Not yet I haven't."

With that he continued to tease my nipples with one of his hand while stroking my cock with his other one; he buried his face into my neck and started to suck and nip at the flesh there.

He continued to jack me off for about two minutes before he stopped, feeling my cock throbbing meaning it was almost about to cum; he pulled his face back and stared at the new hickeys on my neck with satisfaction.

"Now I won." Komamura said, kissing each one of the new love marks.

"I'd say." I reply, coming down from my high. I rubbed my sore nipples, "That hurt Komamura.

He just chuckled and then grew slightly serious, "Sajin."

I looked up at him, "What?"

"Call me Sajin, it's my name." He explained.

"Sa-jin Sajin." I say testing it out, "I like it! I like your name."

"Call me it from now on." He said as he washed the soap from my hair.

We continued to wash ourselves and then we both got out to dry off. Sajin wrapped me in a towel and vigorously rubbed me down and patted me dry, paying very good attention to my still hard penis. He stroked me a few times and then looked me in the eye.

"Are you uncomfortable with this?" Sajin asked still lightly fingering my cock.

"Quite the contrary actually." I say smiling at the feeling.

"Would you like to feel something even better?" He breathed.

"Absolutely." I say, doing my best to keep from thrusting into his hand.

"Good." He said, he reached down and picked me up in a fireman's carry and walked out of the bathroom and gently set me down on the bed.

He climbed up so that he was over me and staring right into my eyes, he closed his eyes slowly and started to kiss me; his tongue forced itself into my mouth and wrapped around my tongue and explored my mouth passionately. He broke the kiss and opened his eyes; he kissed me on the forehead and slowly started to work his way down my body: he kissed my neck, my chest, and started to play with my nipples some more. He skipped my crotch entirely and let his tongue slowly glide up and down my legs, I shivered as the sensation over took me. Finished with my legs he kissed his way up to my member and gently kissed the head, purple with need for release. He kissed it a few times and then slid his black lips over it and started to knead my balls with his hand.

I gasped as I felt the warm flesh of Sajin's mouth enclose my cock, his tongue gently stroking it and wrapping around it; his hand playing with my balls felt like magic as the fur rubbed against the naked skin stretched tight. He let go of my cock with a wet _plop_ and took my balls into his mouth, and started stroking my shaft with his free hand. The sudden air was cold and sharp after the moist warmth of Sajin's mouth, his hand acted as a firm insulator as he started stroking me feverishly; his tongue was all over my balls and it felt amazing as he sucked them and let them pop out of his mouth only to be brought back in again and again. He released my balls and watched as they retracted into my body as my orgasm approached. He lowered his head some more and licked my scrotum sending waves of ecstasy coursing through my body; finally done with teasing me, Sajin wrapped his mouth around my throbbing shaft and started bobbing his head up and down again while using his tongue to create a moist friction.

I groaned as the throbbing in my cock took on a whole new level; I knew I was going to cum soon, "Unh- Sa- Sajin I'm –unh- going to- unh- cum!" I cried as I felt myself approach the point of no return.

Sajin chuckled a bit and started bobbing faster and using his tongue to create even more friction. I gasped as the vibrations worked into my cock and sent me over the edge.

"Sajin!" I screamed. My back arched with my release as my hips lifted off the bed in a final thrust into his mouth and a my slit felt as if it were on fire as it shot rope after rope of cum in Sajin's throat; I rode the wave of euphoria and laid back down, panting and covered in sweat. Sajin kept my length in his mouth long after it had gone limp, milking it for every last drop of cum; after a couple of minutes he let it fall from his mouth and land on my stomach with a soft thud.

He brought his head up to mine and gulped loudly before opening his mouth, "Delicious." He said before kissing me.

I met his tongue halfway and was surprised, and slightly turned on, by the fact that I could taste myself on his breath. I kissed him harder pressing my hands to either side of his face and smashed my lips against his. He seemed caught off guard pulled back a little.

"I want you in me." I whisper, caught up in the moment of passion and lust.

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Positive." I say slowly grinding my hips against his.

"We don't have any lubricant." He said, than groaned as he felt my hand grab his shaft.

"I can take care of that, just say yes." I breathe in his ear.

"Yes." He said slowly thrusting his hips into my hand.

"Thank you." I say kissing him once more on the lips before scooting down.

I started to finger his shaft lightly tracing it with my finger before kissing the tip of it gently; it throbbed involuntarily in response. I ran my tongue over my lips and got the light taste of it, it tasted slightly salty with something that wasn't really describable that I knew as skin. I swallowed before opening my mouth and fitting about half of Sajin's meat into my mouth. I tried to put more in, but I gagged and decided to just keep it where it was. I bobbed up and down slowly, letting my tongue apply saliva to lubricate his twitching meat. I let a pool of drool build up in my mouth and I let it slide down his pulsing cock, completely lubricating it; I used my hand and spat a little into it and started spreading the fluid evenly across his entire length. I kissed the tip one more time and came back to face Sajin.

"That should do it." I say.

"Are you absolutely sure you want me in you?" Sajin asked making sure I didn't change my mind or get cold feet.

"I am positive; don't worry I will let you know if I change my mind. I want you to enjoy yourself to." I say.

"I enjoy every second I am with you." Komamura whispered before straddling me. "I will go slow and give you time to adjust."

"Okay." I whisper as I felt his twitching heat press against my entrance.

He guided it in with his hand and forced steadily, trying to get past my entrance.

I pushed out a little to help him enter and gasped in pain as his huge head entered me. I clenched the sheets as I felt Sajin enter me slowly adding inch to inch, filling me entirely. I moaned a little as I felt something inside of me tear. Sajin stopped immediately and started to pull out a little.

"NO!" I exclaimed, "Don't stop, and just give me a minute to get used to it."

Sajin seemed reluctant but stayed where he was. After a few minutes I sighed and told him to continue; he slid in and once again I was gripping the sheets for dear life as I felt every centimeter fill me. I let out a sigh of relief when I felt his hips pressed against my ass. He sat there a minute and slowly pulled back and slid in.

I gasped at the foreign sensation and bit back my tongue as I felt him hit my prostate. He waited and thrusted into me again; after a while he picked up speed and started thrusting harder.

I clenched my teeth the entire time, not wanting him to stop on my account; I groaned in pleasure every time he hit my prostate just the right way to send shivers through my entire body. Soon the pain dulled to a faint throbbing and finally it went away entirely leaving only the burning pleasure of him thrusting in and out of me to fill its space; a feeling started to bubble in my stomach and soon I started rocking my hips to meet his every thrust.

"Oh oh god, oh god, oh FUCK!" I panted as the feeling spread through my body.

Sajin took my moans and outburst as encouragement and started thrusting harder and faster. I felt his balls slap against my ass seconds after his hips and could hear his quiet grunts of pleasure with each thrust. I smiled up at him lift my body of the mattress to kiss him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pressed our lips together. Sajin kissed me back passionately forcing his tongue down my throat and panting little puffs with every thrust of his hips. I broke the kiss and took several breaths as I felt myself approaching orgasm for the second time.

I rocked back into his thrust as hard as I could and let my orgasm take me; my anal walls tightened around Sajin's pulsing meat and sent him over the edge. With a howl Sajin came inside of me, filling me almost instantly with his seed; soon it spilled out around his softening member and onto the sheets beneath us. He thrusted a few more times before stopping, he was panting and covered in sweat. I fell back against the sheets and regained my breath slowly.

Sajin pulled his limp cock out of me and picked me up in a soft embrace. He brought me to the other side of the bed, where it was cleaner, and laid down; settling me on top of him.

Just before unconsciousness took me I managed to get out a sentence, "That was amazing Sajin, I love you so much." I nuzzled my head into the hollow of his neck.

"It sure was." Sajin said and then added, "I love you too."

I felt his soothing heartbeat and fell asleep to his regular deep breathing, happy with what we had just did and even happier with the fact that he had finally said that he loved me. If I had had the energy I probably would have done a victory dance.

_Maybe tonight wasn't so bad_


	15. Ceremonies and Irises

Okay so i decided that i was too lazy to put up sex alerts anymore, so now you will just have to read and find out. I do not have a beta reader and can only do so much at one time so please let me know if you find anything wrong and i will do my best to fix it.

Comments are always appreciated; but some take advantage of this fact and decide to flame. I have a simple solution to all complaints (lacking constructive criticism) IF YOU DON'T LIKE IT DON'T READ IT!

I loved writing this story, but all good things must come to an end and unfortunately this story's time has come. I will probably only do about 3 or 5 more chapters and then it will be over. If you like my writing i am working on a new Teen Titan's story and will probably have the first chapter posted within the month.

so without further ado i give you my latest chapter,

**Ryubarra**

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><p>The sun streamed through the thin curtains hanging over Sajin's window, shedding light on our curled up forms in his giant bed. I grumbled as the sun hit my face and rolled over, burying my face in Sajin's furry chest.<p>

"So you're awake now?" Sajin whispered in my ear.

"Nope." I reply, smiling in his chest.

"Well, you should probably consider doing so soon; we have to be at the ceremony in two hours." He said, chuckling in my ear.

"Five more minutes." I say snuggling closer to him.

In reply Sajin picked me up and started carrying me to the bathroom, "Sorry no time."

"You suck!" I whisper, playfully punching him in the chest.

"Technically we both do." He said.

I stared up at him in shock, "Since when do you tell dirty jokes?"

He just chuckled.

He sat me down on a stool and went to turn on the shower. I started when I felt something wet dripping down my crack; I put my finger to my crack and pulled it back, it was red with blood. My eyes widened a bit and I felt a little sick.

"Sa-Sajin?" I say my voice cracking a bit.

Sajin's nose twitched at the smell and he came right over; he looked at my hand and then stood me up searching, when he found out the cause he smiled in relief.

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious; this happens after your first time, it won't last long. A couple of hours at most, considering your healing rate." Sajin said ruffling my hair.

"I will be bleeding out my ass!" I exclaimed in disbelief. I then laughed and said the first thing that came to mind, "I wonder if a girl feels this way during her period."

Sajin raised his eyebrow at me.

"What, I'm not allowed to be curious?" I say laughing at his expression.

He just shook his head and picked me up, carrying me to the shower. The water was steaming and felt good on my sore muscles; I let out a sigh of relief as I felt myself unwind. Sajin placed a hand in my hair and started to lather it with soap, I smiled as I felt him slowly massage my scalp; I rubbed my hand against his furry arm, letting the feel of his wet fur capture all of my attention. Soon Sajin had my entire body cleaned and we just sat there enjoying the water flowing down our bodies. My mind wandered to the events of last night and I smiled to myself as what had transpired the previous night came rushing back to me. Unfortunately, my detailed memory had me hard in a few seconds. I looked up and saw that Sajin was staring at me with a raised eyebrow and half grin.

"Should I take care of that?" He asked already getting down on one knee and fondling my balls with one hand while pumping my shaft with his other.

My head fell back and I moaned at his touch. "God Sajin, that feels amazing!" I say.

He leaned his head down and gently kissed the head of my cock. He took his thumb and spread the precum that had seeped out around the entire length. He tentatively licked the underside of my throbbing need; then he opened his maw and placed my entire shaft into his mouth and started to suck and lick all along it while bobbing his head up and down slowly.

I started to thrust into his mouth, and then blushed as I realized what I had just done. Sajin didn't seem to notice and continued to work on my throbbing member. It didn't take long for me to cum, and soon I was calling out Sajin's name as I shot rope after rope into his mouth. He swallowed it all without complaint and stood up, smiling at me softly.

"Feel better?" He asked.

"Much better." I said pulling him into a kiss.

Soon we got out and toweled off; I was thinking about what I should wear to the ceremony. We walked out and Sajin put on his usual outfit; I decided to put on my academy uniform, hopefully for the last time. I strapped Heiwa-tekina Kagami to my waist. With a sigh I turned to Sajin and smiled.

"Looks like my time of judgment has arrived at last." I say to him, feeling nervous once again.

Sajin let out a sigh, "How many times do I have to tell you that you did fine before you'll believe me?"

_He's right you know; you did amazingly, not to mention the fact that you have shikai. Plus you were already guaranteed a spot in the Gotei 13._

I let out a sigh, "I know I am already guaranteed a spot, but I am still nervous about the whole ordeal; I will have to put up with all those people again I wish I could leap forward in time and just skip the whole thing." I flopped down on the bed as I finished my rant, having finished getting dressed.

"You will only have to deal with them for an hour or so and then you probably won't have to deal with most of them again." Sajin reassured me. He looked at me before sliding on his own shirt and sitting down gently next to me, "Would you like to talk about it?"

I brought my hands to my face and rubbed at my eyes, "No, I just tend to focus on the 'what ifs' of life."

"Such as?"

I took a deep breath, "like: what if I had not saved my little brother, or what if I had killed Shinta, and what if I hadn't met you Sajin? I think about these things all the time and I never really understand why they pop up or how I should deal with them, so I just tinker with the idea until I come up with a resolution or get bored of thinking of it; sometimes I freak out and can't focus on anything except the chaos inside of my mind. Does that make me crazy?" I roll onto my stomach and place my head in Sajin's lap.

He picked up his hand and ran it through my hair before replying, "You're not crazy, you are just a very inquisitive person; as for the solutions to your questions I am afraid I don't have the answers."

"That's okay I didn't really expect you to." I say putting my hand up to his, "How long do you think we will have to stay a secret?"

"Not long, just enough where it won't cause too much of a stir." Sajin stood with a grunt, "We should probably be on our way."

I smiled up at him and then heaved myself up onto my feet next to him, "If you say so."

Sajin and I made our way to the ceremony which would be held at Sōkyoku Hill. We walked for a couple of minutes without interruption when we stopped by the academy. I shot Sajin a look of question and he explained.

"I am in charge of escorting the students to the ceremony." He explained looking at me.

I let out an exasperated sigh and then stood up straight, "Okay, it could be worse. Is this going to be a public event or is it something private?"

"All officers of the Gotei 13 will be there, a few of the populace will be there, and I think a representative of Central 46 will be there. It is not going to be too many people don't worry." Sajin said cupping my chin and giving me a gentle kiss, it was cut short as we heard people start arriving.

"We'll have to finish that later." I whisper to him

"Indeed." Sajin said, now in captain mode as more and more people came out into the area. When all the people had gathered Sajin began his explanation, "I am here to escort you to the site of your ceremony, Sōkyoku Hill; there you will stand at attention and await instruction from the Captain-commander. If you are one of the people who passed, when you choose the squad you will join find the captain and they will tell you what to do. Refrain from talking and making a scene and everything should go smoothly and quickly; now if there are no questions follow me."

No one, it seems, had a question. We all followed Sajin toward our destination. I looked around, but didn't see Yamada in the immediate crowd; I saw the people from the previous night, all with obvious hangovers. I turned my head in disgust and let my mind wander as I followed Sajin. I felt someone obnoxiously bump against my arm and I snapped back to reality. I looked to my right and tried hard not to look disgusted as I realized that the drunks had all circled around me, effectively cutting off my view of Sajin's ass.

"I bet you think you're really something, don't you?" A girl with bronze skin and black hair sneered.

I shot her a confused look before replying grumpily, "I assure you I have no idea what you are talking about, now could you please move."

"You decided to show us all up and you stuck with it so that you could look good." A different person accused.

"No. . . I stuck with it because I hate leaving things unfinished. I decided that it would also be better to see if I was capable of completing the third task. Now I have had a good day and I would very much like for it not to be ruined by half-baked insults and overused comebacks, so if you would let me through I will not bother you and you can ignore me and tend to your hangovers. Sound good?" I say evenly.

They all were shocked and I took advantage of the opportunity and slipped through two of the people and resumed going on my way to the ceremony, following Sajin.

"_That's one way to handle a problem" _Kagami sounded in my head.

I smiled, _"Would you prefer that I have attacked them?"_ I asked sarcastically.

"_Forget I said anything."_ Kagami said before laughing softly, I joined her.

The rest of the way to the ceremony was uneventful and passed rather quickly, especially when your view consisted of staring at a hot ass that was right in front of you. We all gathered at the top of Sōkyoku Hill, awaiting instructions; all around us were the officers of Gotei 13, some people, and a really old man sitting on a high backed chair. I smiled and waved at Captain Ukitake, and nodded at Hitsugaya and Lieutenant Matsumoto. I turned my attention back to Sajin as he gave out instructions.

"You will stand in rows according to the order we put you in. The ceremony itself won't start until after Captain-commander Yamamoto has given his announcements, afterwards you will come forward as your name is called and then you will make your decision and choose the squad you will join by placing a token on the squad's symbol at the center of the area. You will go to the captain and await instruction on what to do next. The token you use can be anything you have at the moment: a ring, sash, or anything."

Sajin then had us all line up into rows and await the Captain-commander's instruction. The group of people with hangovers and I were put into the first row with everyone else behind us.

With that Sajin was finished and bowed to the Captain-commander as he took a spot at the center, next to the squad symbols on the ground. We all bowed as he turned to face us.

"Congratulations to all of you for making it here and giving this your best effort, as you know the ceremony will commence soon; but first there is something I feel must be addressed and taken care of first." Captain-commander Yamamoto said before turning to the first row. "Will the top participants please step forward?"

We all stepped forward, the other people were smirking proudly and even taunted some of the people behind us when they thought that Yamamoto wasn't looking.

"Let's have a round of applause for the people who have displayed their capabilities so well!" Yamamoto yelled.

The crowd happily obliged with a raucous roar of clapping.

"Enough!" Yamamoto silenced the crowd after a couple of seconds. "Yes it is true that those standing before you right now have displayed the greatest ability; but all but one of them has shown a lack of motivation, determination, and willingness to stick to something even after they are no longer required to do so. It is with this in mind that I dismiss all of you except for Hiroshi Osamu, who decided to stay and finish the program. Being a shinigami will often require you to go above and beyond what you are asked to do, which you have shown you are not willing to do; you are dismissed!" Yamamoto finished slamming his cane to the ground.

The group of people all just stared with their mouths open. One of them managed to form a slightly coherent sentence, "B- b- but we were guaranteed positions in the Gotei 13! You said so yourself!"

Yamamoto fixed the person with a cold stare, "That was a test that you failed, I just explained that you would often be required to go above the normal call of duty."

The same person was about to say something else when they just dropped their head in defeat and started shuffling off, followed by the other people.

They left the area without another word and went back to the academy.

Yamamoto fixed me with his stare, "You are the only person who decided to stay when they were given the chance to leave, why is that?"

I took a breath, already expecting this question, "I hate leaving things unfinished and in all honesty I wanted to see if I had the ability to complete the third challenge."

He stared at me and then nodded his understanding, "You may return to your spot."

I bowed and returned to where I was previously standing, now alone.

Yamamoto went through all the formalities of ceremony and soon started calling people forward. He worked from the back to the front, meaning I would be last.

"_Do you know what your token is going to be?"_ Kagami asked.

"_No clue, I want to do something special and unique; especially since I am going to be last."_ I told her.

"_I may have an idea if you want to hear it."_ She replied.

"_Okay, what do you have in mind?"_ I asked

She told me what to do and if she were there at the moment I would have hugged her.

I paid attention for the rest of the time, still surprised that Yamada was nowhere to be seen. In the end out of the twelve remaining people (including me): 6 choose squad 13, 2 chose squad 4, 1 choose squad eleven, 1 for squad 2, and the last one choose squad 12.

"Hiroshi Osamu step forward!" Yamamoto said.

Taking a deep breath I stepped forward and reached into my pocket and took hold of a small oval shape.

"_Just remember what I told you and you will do fine."_ Kagami reassured.

I stepped forward to Captain Yamamoto who was standing above the symbol of the Gotei13, and looked to the symbol for squad seven.

He raised an eyebrow; a couple of the captains had their swords drawn as they saw me draw my Zanpakutõ. I quickly slashed at my palm before planting kagami into the ground at my feet. I opened my hand and dropped a single seed into my bloody palm before clenching it into a fist. I walked over to the symbol for squad seven and stood there for a bit.

My Reiatsu spiked as I forced some of my Reiryoku into the small seed. The people closest to me flinched slightly at the rise in spiritual pressure. Sajin was giving me a questioning look, as were most of the other people; I just smiled and opened my hand, letting the blood covered seed fall to the ground. Everyone looked at me strangely, not knowing what all the fuss was about. I counted to three and smiled as I saw the seed sink into the soil. I took a step back as the ground split slightly and a single chute sprung up from the ground; the sprout grew and the color darkened to a rich brown, soon it took the appearance of a small tree and continued to grow at an accelerated rate. People gasped as they saw what I did; now the tree was thirteen feet tall with branches reaching out everywhere, it stopped growing leaving its branches bare. I placed my hand to the trunk and forced a bit more of my reiryoku into the tree, buds started popping up all along the branches. The buds bloomed into varying shades of purple flowers. When all was said and done a thirteen foot tree with purple iris flowers and green limbs stood at the center of the symbol for the seventh division.

Everyone stared in awe as the tree stopped its growth and stood as if it had been there for years.

"There is my token." I say to no one in particular before making my way to Kagami and picking her up and sheathing her and then heading to Sajin who was still staring, baffled, at the tree.

He looked at me, his eyes shining, "Glad to have you aboard, you will have to wait here until after the ceremony has concluded and then we will make our way to the barracks, where you will be assessed and then placed into the squad." He said formally.

"Understood Captain Komamura." I replied in equal formality seeing as we were in a public area, otherwise I might have jumped into his arms.

Captain Yamamoto eyed the tree one more time before collecting himself and continuing the ceremony, "To all of you here I once again say congratulations on coming this far, I know I speak on behalf of all the captains when I say that we are proud to have you aboard. Starting tomorrow you will officially be members of the Gotei 13!" As Yamamoto finished a roar of cheering and applause overtook the immediate area, "You are all dismissed!" Yamamoto yelled over the crowd, doing his signature cane slam.

I walked over to the tree and sat down in the shade beneath it, the stunt had taken a little more effort than I had anticipated; but, all in all, it was worth it to see the looks of shock and awe etched over most of the people's faces, Yamamoto and Captain Kuchiki being the obvious exceptions.

"Why all the show?" Lieutenant Matsumoto asked from nowhere.

I opened an eye and saw that her overlarge breasts were right in my face, I jumped back in surprise and hit my head against the tree, "Ow- what do you- Oh you mean this sucker! It was a demonstration to the other people who participated in the program."

She just gave me a blank look.

"It was Heiwa-Tekina Kagami's idea actually, she suggested me using my spiritual energy and forcing it into the seed to accelerate its growth. I liked the idea and even found a few poetic reasons for doing it, and I also figured I could influence the growth to produce Iris flowers instead of the apples it was supposed to. I figured that I could show them that a monster could make something beautiful."

Matsumoto just looked at me slightly sadly, "They really put you through something didn't they?"

I shrugged my shoulders, "Some days it seems worse than others. I think I could be bipolar."

Matsumoto sighed and then cracked a smile to lighten the mood, "It was some trick though, I didn't even know something like this was possible."

"Neither did I, but Kagami said it would work just fine." I say gently stroking her hilt.

"Kagami?" She asked, obviously in the dark about my Zanpakutõ.

"Heiwa-Tekina Kagami, she is my Zanpakutõ." I explained.

She facepalmed, "Oh yeah you are the kid with shikai! I completely forgot about that!"

Seeing the red handprint and the ditsy expression on her face I couldn't help but laugh.

She smiled before getting up and dusting off her uniform, "Well it's great to see that you passed! I hope we have a chance to meet up sometime, maybe over some drinks?"

"I'll pass on the drinks, but sure that sounds like fun, it looks like your captain is ready to leave so you probably shouldn't keep him waiting." I said smiling at the impatient Hitsugaya.

She let out a sigh and joined him, "Later Hiroshi!"

"See you later Lieutenant Matsumoto." I say before leaning back against the tree and closing my eyes again.

A huge shadow appeared, blocking the sun; I opened my eyes and saw Sajin staring down at me.

"Come along, we have permission to leave." He said formally, some captains were still around.

"Yes sir." I say getting up from my cozy spot, "Don't worry about the tree it will disappear overnight."

"Okay then, let's go." Sajin said, turning to head back to the squad's barracks.

*** Time lapse***

I followed without another word and soon we were back at the compound and heading toward Sajin's quarters. We walked in and Sajin locked the door behind us.

He turned around and I jumped up to him and hugged him tightly, laughing.

He wrapped his arm around me and half-smiled, "I told you that you would do it." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

I smiled again, this time some tears coming to my eyes, "It took three years, but I finally did it!"

Sajin understood immediately, "I never had any doubt."

"Really?" I asked incredulously.

"Well, maybe once or twice." Sajin said smiling at me.

"Ass!" I say playfully punching his chest.

"Is that anyway to speak to your new captain?" He chuckled darkly.

"Probably not; but you are Sajin first and captain second." I say smiling up at him.

He did one of his famous half-smiles and then scooped me up in a hug and attacked my mouth with his. The kiss started somewhat gently but then it turned into a passionate mess, with both of our tongues exploring the other's mouth. Soon I needed air and was forced to break the kiss, but Sajin just moved onto my neck and started to gently nip and suck at the sensitive skin there.

"Sa-Sajin, what if someone hears or sees us?" I asked after finally being able to say something.

Sajin just growled in his throat, but then let me go and went to his desk and scratched something down on a piece of paper with a pen. He went to the door and opened it before putting it on with a piece of tape.

I managed to get a look at the sign before he closed the door, it read:

**The Captain is busy; take all problems up with Lieutenant Iba.**

"Sorry Iba." I muttered under my breath.

Sajin came back over to me with a devious look in his eyes, "Now where were we?"

"I don't remember." I said smiling at him, "Guess we will just have to start over."

He smiled and picked me up in his arms before walking into his room. He laid me down gently on the bed, "We have a couple of options." Sajin said as he straddled me.

"What do you mean by options?" I say, already grinding against him in anticipation.

"I mean positions; we could do what we did yesterday or we could try something new." He said, kissing the nape of my neck gently.

It was hard to think clearly with him kissing me and my hormones raging; but I finally managed to form a coherent sentence, "I-I am always willing to t-try something n-new." I say out of breath as his kissing turned to sucking and nipping.

He smiled before gently kissing the hickeys from the previous night and sitting up straight, "Okay then, I will help you like I did yesterday." Sajin said as he started to slip of his haori and the top of his uniform.

I followed suit and soon we were both completely naked with our clothes in a pile at the foot of the bed.

Sajin sat himself against the headboard and pulled me to him; he fished around in a draw for a second before pulling out a tub, "I picked this up today, it will make it easier and more pleasurable for you." He sat me down in his lap and slid two fingers in the tub, "It will be cold at first, but it will warm up soon." Sajin said before starting to kiss me again.

I didn't exactly know what he was talking about; but didn't care as I gave myself into the kiss, I slid my tongue in his mouth and continued to explore as his hand slowly trailed down my back. I gasped in surprise as he pushed one of his fingers into me; it was cold, but soon warmed up as he started to move his finger around. Soon he forced another finger in, stretching me even more; he let this finger stay there a bit before spreading them as far as he could. I started to moan and rock back and forth along his fingers at the intense feelings that were pulsing through my body. I arched my back as I approached my climax; but Sajin had other plans as he removed his fingers.

He grabbed the tub and placed it in my hand, "Coat me with this." He said, looking at me intently.

I didn't waste any time and covered my fingers in the lubricant before bringing my hand to Sajin's massive erection. He hissed between his teeth at the cold of the gel; but soon started to moan and growl in his throat as the lube warmed up and coated his entire length. I started to pump his shaft and got up a good pace before it started to throb and a spurt of precum leaped from between his slit.

He firmly grasped my hand, forcing me to stop.

"Now relax, if you tense up during this it will hurt." Sajin said as he forced me down onto his swollen member, stretching me to the same point as the previous night.

I groaned as he slid in up to the hilt, he let me stay there to adjust; he then grabbed my waist and slowly lifted me up before slamming me back down onto him. White stars danced across my vision as he struck my prostate repeatedly, sending me into a blind frenzy fueled by the ecstasy of him being inside of me. I soon picked up the rhythm and worked to meet him after every thrust. Sajin started thrusting harder, producing more friction; my vision went white as he hit my prostate full on, I came all over his chest. Sajin groaned as my anal walls clamped down on his member, producing an enormous amount of friction; he thrusted one more time before he came inside of me with a grunt and moan. Completely spent, I flopped down onto his chest and tried to regain my breath.

I smiled as a thought came into my head, "Do you welcome all your new squad members like this?"

Sajin chuckled deep in his chest before replying, "No, just you." He kissed me gently, "Welcome to the Seventh Division, Hiroshi Osamu."


	16. A disturbance

I am really sorry that this was such a short chapter, but my muse is missing CALL ME IF YOU FIND IT! This was supposed to be posted yesterday but i went to homecoming, and one thing led to another and suddenly i was passed out on my bed at 3 am.

Another reason that this chapter was so short is because at first it was going to be longer but then i had to break it down into two different chapters, for reasons you should understand by the end of the chapter.

Once again this story is fairly close to the end, but i have a new story up called A Mercenary Gone Soft. I just have the prologue up right now but i am already done with the first couple of chapters so i might start posting on that soon. Drop me a review and tell me what you think. I am still open to ideas seeing as a few things are actually set in stone.

I will definitely make up for this chapter in the next one, and just to prove how sorry i am drop me a review with what you want in this story or my other one or even just a one shot and the best one i see i will do. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

**Ryubarra**

* * *

><p>Sweat fell from my body in tiny rivulets as I stood shirtless with my sword drawn, pointing at the third, fourth, and fifth seats of squad 7. I gasped for air and then held my katana horizontally across my body in a defensive stance.<p>

This morning Sajin had told me that I would fight the members of his squad and those who I was able to defeat would decide my rank within the division. There were 250 squad members, most of which wielding shikai. I was able to breeze through the first hundred members without breaking a sweat; the next 145 members were a little more of a workout and were actually able to do some damage; my shirt had suffered the consequences of my careless actions. Soon all that remained were the fifth, fourth, and third seats, not mentioning Lieutenant Iba

The fifth seat rushed me with his shikai, a large chakram with flaming spikes, and threw it straight at my face. I slashed at it with Kagami, still sealed, and deflected it into the ground. I took the opportunity to perform a 360 spin slash, and dropped the man with the back of my blade. I didn't see the fourth seat sneak up beside me and use his shikai, a spear with projectile tip, to attempt to impale my back. I screamed in pain as it missed its mark and grazed my ribs; I grabbed the chain connecting the spearhead to the shaft and yanked hard on it, bringing the man closer to me and my outstretched fist. There was a satisfying crack as I broke his nose. He screamed and then back flipped away, taking his spear with him.

"Are you okay?" I scream as he held a hand up to the bloody wreck that was his mangled nose.

He waved a hand and then bent over to spit up a bit of blood.

Sighing, the member of squad 4 went to the man and escorted him away to deal with his injuries; dragging the unconscious fifth seat with him.

Smiling in apology I turned my attention back to the remaining person.

The third seat had yet to use his shikai and stood, waiting for me to make the first move. This guy was not going to rush in blindly, like everyone else. I closed the gap, leaving about 20 feet between the two of us.

"Why are you holding back?" I asked the guy.

"Because I don't need my shikai to beat a new initiate of our squad." The man said, still not out of breath.

"What if said initiate had shikai?" I asked smiling, already bringing my sword up in front of me.

"That is preposterous; it takes years to learn shikai." The arrogant man scoffed.

"Not if you have good ears." I say, placing my fingertips against the blade.

The guy just shot me a blank look.

"Mimic and control, Heiwa-Tekina Kagami!" I shouted as my fingers ran the length of the blade.

My blade became shrouded in a white light, then it split down the middle all the way to the hilt; the blades bulged outward in the center, finally two lengths of red rope fell from the handles.

The guy's jaw dropped to the floor as he took in my shikai. He didn't even register the sword flying straight toward his face until it just barely nicked his cheek. A single bead of ruby liquid ran down his face and hit the ground with a nearly silent _plop._ His eyes widened in surprise and then narrowed in anger.

"Fine then; Spread your venom, Shōki no fureiru!" His sword glowed a sickly purple aura and then reshaped itself into a small flail, emitting a strange vapor from its spikes. He swung the sphere above his head by a chain before sending it flying towards me.

"Launch!" I exclaimed pointing to the air directly above me. The black sphere materialized just as the flail wrapped itself around me, forcing my arms to my sides. The mist started to circulate around me but was sucked up into the sphere; a purple star appeared in the middle.

"I take it from your release command that the vapor is poison?" I asked.

The man didn't notice that the sphere had taken all of the vapors away from me, "Yes it is. It is a nuero toxin that first paralyzes all motor control, then it makes its way to the vital parts of your body; I don't have to worry about it ever running out because it is constructed completely from my reiatsu. Looks like it is over for you kid.

"Completely from your Reiatsu you say?" I asked, smiling widely, "Perfect!"

Before the guy could voice his thoughts, I spiked my spiritual pressure enough for the chains to loosen and then flash stepped behind the man.

"I guess I should tell you about Heiwa-Tekina Kagami's ability then." I say as he turned around to face me; unaware that even more of his miasma was being absorbed into the sphere, now above his head, causing the purple star to swell. "Kagami's ability allows her to absorb reiatsu from anything and use it as she sees fit; she can heal with it and replenish strength _OR_ she can use it against someone in an attack at twice the strength it was initially used at. All it takes is the command, FIRE!" I pointed my sword at his chest and instantly a white fog wrapped itself around the man, cutting off his immediate supply of oxygen. He somersaulted away from the fog, and made it away from the worst of the blast. His landed on his feet, but then his arms went slack; he looked at me before smiling.

"Not bad." He gasped for a bit and then fell down, unconscious and paralyzed by his own poison.

I dismissed the orb and returned my sword to its sealed state. My legs buckled and I hit the ground with oomph_._ I caught my breath as Sajin, Iba, and everyone else came around me in a giant circle. I smiled weakly at everyone, and then beamed at Sajin before falling onto my back and passing out.

***Change of View***

Sajin stared at the unconscious boy in front of him with a smile on his face.

"This kid is really something, only two days with shikai and he is already stronger than our third, fourth, and fifth seats combined. He doesn't even have bankai and he can already stand up to a captain for a while. If he keeps improving at this rate, he will probably get the chance to go to the royal guard in the next couple of years." Iba said. He chuckled as Hiroshi started to snore slightly before saying, "Although he should probably sleep for a bit."

Sajin just nodded in agreement before bending down to pick up his sleeping lover and taking him to a shady spot, until he woke.

Sajin laid the boy down and sat beside him for a while, thinking about all of the recent events. If someone had come to him and told him that all of these things would transpire he would have written the person off as a perverted psychopath; but as things were right now he didn't think he had ever been happier. He tucked a stray piece of hair from his sleeping face and then got up to return to his squad.

He heard a murmured whining coming from Hiroshi's direction and chuckled a little bit as he saw what had happened. Goro had decided to step closer, but hadn't guessed that Hiroshi would have him in a bear grip. Goro looked at Sajin with pleading eyes; he just shrugged and left the two alone.

With a sigh Goro let his head drop, and waited for the boy to wake up.

***Change of View***

A wet, sandpaper like object ran up and down my face several times before my eyes reluctantly opened. Goro was staring down at me, panting; when he saw that I was awake he let out a happy bark.

I smiled at him, and then realized my arms were wrapped around him; I let him go and he was gone before I could blink.

"Good to see you too." I said in confusion. "What's this?" I say picking up a piece of paper on the ground next to me.

Hiroshi,

When you wake up come see me at my quarters.

Sajin Komamura.

I smiled briefly and then wiped off the excess slobber before getting up. I walked around the compound making my way to Sajin's quarters, on the way I ran into some people who smiled and waved at me friendlily. I smiled back and said hi to a few people I thought I recognized. I made it to Sajin's quarters without much difficulty. I knocked on the door.

"Come in!" Sajin said.

I opened his door and saw Sajin sitting behind his massive desk, writing up a few papers. Iba was standing next to him, whispering something into his ear. He looked up at me and smiled softly.

"Finally awake?" he asked, finishing up the last of a pile of paperwork.

Goro yipped happily beneath the desk.

"You can thank Goro for that." I sighed, "He can be quite persistent."

Sajin chuckled lightly and then rubbed Goro's head, between his ears, "Yes, he certainly can be." He smiled at Goro a bit longer and then went back to business, "You were able to successfully defeat all of the members of the seventh division, excepting Lieutenant Iba and myself; as discussed earlier your rank was decided on the skill you showed and the people you were able to subdue. So with this in mind I would like to officially welcome you to the Seventh Division, 3rd seat Hiroshi Osamu." Sajin finished the proclamation with a gleam of pride in his eyes.

Lieutenant Iba piped up with a devious smile, "That is unless you want to challenge me for Lieutenant's seat."

I sweatdropped, "I'm good!" I exclaimed, frantically waving my arms back and forth.

Iba laughed at my obvious discomfort. Sajin performed his trademark deep-throated chuckle. Even Kagami laughed.

Everyone calmed down eventually and then Iba spoke up, "How about we have a celebration, in honor of our new 3rd seat?"

"You are just looking for an excuse to consume your body weight in sake aren't you Lieutenant Iba?" I asked cocking an eyebrow at him.

Iba gave a look of mock horror, "I would never do something like that." He said.

"Says the man already reaching for his jug of sake hidden in his captain's desk." I say pointing a finger at his hiding spot.

"Rat!" Iba grumbled under his breath, but smiled at the joke.

"Don't be sore Tetsuzaemon, I already knew about it." Sajin said, ruffling my hair as he walked past. "I am going to get dressed then, spread the word to the squad. If you want you can tell everyone." He said as he disappeared and headed off to the bathroom to shower.

Iba sighed, "Guess I better get going." He ruffled my hair as well before leaving, "Good going kid, but if you sell me out like that again we're gonna have an issue." Iba jokingly threatened.

"I guess I will have to make it up to you with some food?" I laugh at him.

I could see his silhouette through the door and could just make out a rude finger gesture aimed in my direction.

I walked into Sajin's room and found him standing naked on the other side of the bed, slowly putting on a pair of pants; he must have known I was there because at that moment he bent over to get his shirt.

Smiling I walked over to him and wrapped my arms around his stomach as he stood back up.

"So, I don't think I ever got the chance to thank you for last night." I whisper, smiling deviously up at his questioning glance.

He smiled down at me, "Oh?"

Smiling, I started to gently stroke the underside of Sajin's massive length; causing it to pulse and jump involuntarily.

He cupped my cheek with his hand and rubbed his thumb in circles just underneath my eye.

"Why don't we wait until tonight? We don't want to keep the people waiting any longer than necessary." Sajin whispered in my ear.

I smiled up at him innocently, "Fine, but I will hold you to that." I say as I ran my finger up the bottom of his shaft one more time.

Sajin mumbled something about teenage hormones and rabbits but I couldn't really hear the entire statement because at that moment a knock came from the door to his quarters.

"Message from squad 11 to the Captain of Squad 7!" A deep voice said from the other side of the door.

A pit grew in my stomach and it took a good chunk of will power not to puke.

Sajin looked at me questioningly for a second and then it sank it for him too.

"Shit, I was hoping he might have forgotten." I said, still fighting the bile rising from my stomach.

"You don't have to go through with it." Sajin said as he returned, carrying a small scroll with my name on it.

"If I don't the psycho will probably track me down and jump me. If I do it this way at least I am guaranteed medical attention." I replied as he opened up the scroll. He let out a sigh before showing me the scroll:

**Hey Koma-Koma,**

**It's Yachiru, Kenny asked me to let you know that he was waiting to play with Hiro! He said to meet at the Squad 11 training area; don't worry he said he already contacted squad 4 and a representative will be here shortly. You two made Kenny so excited I can't wait to see the fight! You should show up in an hour or two. Kenny will get impatient.**

**Yachiru.**

**P.S.**

**If Hiro is reading this, DON'T FORGET MY CANDIES!**

I let out an exasperated sigh and went to Sajin's bed where my Shihakushō was laid out, Sajin had given it to me that morning and I had decided to wait until after the fighting to put it on; I looked up at him and smiled.

"It looks like it is time to break this in, wouldn't you say?" I asked, doing my best to keep the feeling in my stomach **in** my stomach.

Sajin didn't look fooled but smiled sadly, "If you say so, I will be right there if you need help." He finished by cupping my cheek and kissing me gently on the forehead.

I strapped Heiwa-Tekina Kagami to my waist and followed Sajin out the door and to the squad 11 barracks.

***Change of View***

Heiwa-Tekina Kagami was standing around in the open space that was her home, when she felt something change in the air. She turned around and saw something disturbing the water in the pond. She walked over to it and gasped as something jumped from the now turbulent water and landed in front of her.

"Who are you?" She asked already grabbing the swords attached to her sides.

"I'm hurt. How could you not recognize your own master? It's me Hiroshi." Hiroshi's voice sounded, but something was off it had an echo and overall it just sounded evil, twisted, and sadistic. "At least his better half anyway."

As the words faded from hearing the slumped figure stood up and Kagami almost screamed. The thing looking at her _was_ Hiroshi, but it was a more twisted and disgusting version of her master. The normal golden eyes were now a sickly yellow and right in the middle of his chest was a giant hole.

* * *

><p>Told you it wasn't much but i am already working on making the next chapter. It should be about three times as long.<p>

Once again ANY ideas for next chapter or other story or anything and i will definitely see about it.

P.S

the story i am making is a Sladin fanfic. It is A/U and sorry but i do not plan on including the teen titans in, unless as just an extra; but nothing major.

Make sure to drop a review!

My next chap should be up soon, depending on how much free time i get to write it.

UNTIL THEN!


	17. One week's time

The 11th squad barracks came into view relatively soon, I swallowed the lump that had formed in my throat and started making my way forward.

Sajin placed a firm hand on my shoulder and said, "You don't have to go through with this; if I talk to the captain-commander Kenpachi will have to leave you alone."

I smiled, "What, you don't have faith in me? I'm hurt." I said, pretending to wipe away a stray tear.

"This is serious; Kenpachi has seriously hurt people before." Sajin said, but despite his best efforts a small smirk formed on his lips. "You know I have faith in you, 3rd seat Osamu." Sajin said.

"Why the sudden cold shoulder?" I asked, smiling.

"I thought it would agitate you." Sajin said simply.

"Ass." I hissed, at that moment a member of squad 11 came out of the barracks.

The man was completely and totally bald, except for his eyebrows, he had red makeup over his eyelids that gave him creepy cat eyes, and he carried himself like an overconfident, cocky bastard.

"I'm Ikkaku Madarame, 3rd seat of squad 11; I am here to escort Captain Komamura and recruit Hiroshi Osamu to the arena." He looked at me from the corner of his eye, "Is this runt Osamu? If so I have to say I'm kind of happy that we have a squad 4 technician standing by at the moment, he won't last two seconds." Ikkaku said simply, as if he couldn't care less.

Sajin looked like he was ready to say something, but I interrupted.

"Yes I'm Hiroshi Osamu, 3rd seat of squad 7; and who are you calling runt chrome dome?" I replied.

"Th- third seat?" Ikkaku muttered to Sajin, not believing what he heard.

"Yes, Hiroshi Osamu was officially made 3rd seat this morning after his combat evaluation." Sajin said evenly.

Ikkaku looked shocked, but nodded his head anyway; then he seemed to remember something and his face turned a violent shade of red, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING CHROME DOME?" He yelled, as the insult finally sunk in.

I burst out laughing at that point, which probably wasn't a good idea considering the circumstances. Ikkaku whipped his Zanpakutõ out and would have given me a nasty cut if I hadn't drawn in time.

Ikkaku smiled then and sheathed his sword, "Good reflexes that will probably help you out in your fight. You could make a promising fighter for squad 11." Sajin let out a low, almost inaudible growl, Ikkaku seemed to notice though and started damage control, "But you are already part of a squad, so I guess we will have to make do without you. We've wasted enough time, we should probably go now; follow me." Without another word he was off, leaving me and Sajin following him closely.

"I still think we should have just ignored Zaraki." Sajin grumbled beneath his breath.

"Pessimist." I grumbled back.

Sajin decided to ignore the jab and went into his own land of thought.

I shrugged my shoulders and started to observe the barracks. They weren't much different than the Squad 7 barracks, excepting the occasional blood stain on the walls or ground. I tried to ignore those as best I could; Ikkaku kept quiet for the most part, occasionally pointing out things here and there he thought were important.

We finally reached the arena and stopped at the center, where Captain Kenpachi was waiting.

He looked over to us with a murderous grin on his face, "So you came?" He said nonchalantly, standing and dusting off the bottom of his uniform.

"I didn't really have a choice, not to mention I already said I would, so. . . . ." I trailed off, seeing that he wasn't even really paying attention. "I guess you really don't care, so long as I showed up; do you?" I asked.

He grinned, "Ding-ding, correct. So the 4th squad is here as you requested, now can we get on with it? I've been waiting for a few days now." Zaraki rasped out the last bit, trying to contain some of his excitement; but failing.

I shrugged my shoulders, "Fair enough, I guess I _have_ kept you waiting." I drew my sword as the final words faded from hearing. I placed my fingers against the blade, "Since you're a captain, I guess holding back would be insulting. Mimic and control, Heiwa-Tekina Kagami!" My fingers ran down the length of the blade as it started to glow white.

When the glow faded, I was left standing with a sword in either hand. I watched as Sajin walked away, muttering about how he wished I would have just stayed away and let him talk to the captain-commander.

I put my blades in an X defensive position in front of me. Zaraki drew his blade with a manic grin and muttered something over his shoulder. Yachiru's pink head popped up from nowhere and she skipped over to where Sajin was sitting and smiled at him before sitting down next to him, doing her stone-faced imitation of him.

I laughed a little to myself and then jumped out just in time to avoid being sliced in half by Zaraki's blade. I brought my blades back up and focused on him, inside of the crater from his first attack.

"You should probably pay attention! It won't be much fun if you clock out just because you were distracted." Zaraki laughed, already having fun.

I didn't answer and just put my swords back up. I focused on all of his movements, the way his muscles moved when he dug his sword from the ground, the way his whole body reacted to the added weight of the blade to his body, and the way he walked and balanced himself.

I jumped when I felt my muscles prickling and burning; I looked down and saw my skin rippling like water's surface when someone throws a pebble in.

"What the hell?" I gasped, the sensation stopped just as Zaraki leaped again.

"I said to pay attention!" Zaraki yelled.

Before my mind could really process what was happening my arm shot up and blocked his strike in mid-air. He looked confused and cocked his head to the side; I saw my chance and attacked. I used my other arm and I slashed across his left shoulder, nothing happened. My blade just glanced across his skin like it was made of paper.

He laughed and then jumped away, "I'm impressed, you were able to stop my attack with one arm; but that doesn't mean shit if you can't cut me!" Zaraki screamed, "This is going to be very interesting, don't let up now kid!"

He launched at me again and just like before my arm shot up and blocked him before I understood what was happening. This time the prickling came back and intensified in my arms; I slashed again and this time used more strength, I was rewarded with a small cut down the length of his torso.

Zaraki grunted then jumped to the other side of the arena, "What the hell was that!" Zaraki laughed.

My body moved on its own accord into a defensive stance, "I don't know." I whispered, awed by the sudden change. Then it hit me like a sack of bricks. I looked at Sajin and his eyes were as wide as mine.

"Upon analysis we have figured out that his reiryoku is able to change. . ." We both said at the same time, as we both remembered the first time that I woke up and had overheard the discussion between Captain Unohana and Sajin.

"So. . ." Yachiru said biting her finger while thinking, "Hiro can adapt to any environmental or physiological stimuli and use it to enhance his body through hormonal and chemical acceleration."

Sajin and I just stared open mouthed at her, THIS KID WAS A GENIUS!

She saw me looking and then smiled, "Kenny's still gonna beat you to a pulp though!"

I sweatdropped and then turned my attention back to Zaraki who was grinning like a madman, what else was new?

"I knew this was going to be entertaining, but now. . ." Zaraki started, reaching for his eye patch, "I can finally cut loose!" he yelled the last bit and ripped off his eye patch, and then all hell broke loose.

A yellow tidal wave of Reiatsu flooded the arena and then went skyward.

"Launch!" I exclaimed. The black sphere materialized and soon the star in the middle shined as bright as the sun. I started freaking out, the sphere couldn't hold anymore and this guy was still gushing like someone had cut a major artery. I crossed my fingers, "Launch! Launch!" I screamed. Two more black spheres materialized and I felt woozy and light-headed.

The remaining Reiatsu washed over me harmlessly, I breathed a sigh of relief and then pointed at one of the spheres, "Replenish." I whispered, barely holding onto consciousness. A soft line of white light leaked from the sphere and flowed down my blade into my body.

Zaraki stood there and watched, "What the hell is that?" he asked Yachiru.

"Shiny lights!" she cheered.

I was able to stand up now, "That was Heiwa-Tekina Kagami's ability, she took some of your Reiatsu and gave it to me to re-energize me; she has another ability too you know, she can gather Reiatsu and use it to turn an attack against the person who used it in the first place." I raised my left blade at Zaraki, "Daburufurea!"

Two beams of concentrated yellow Reiatsu blasted toward Zaraki. They hit him at the same time, creating a crater around him and a large pillar of light to flash up into the sky.

A huge smoke cloud went up and when it finally went down I saw Zaraki standing in the middle, eyes closed and murderous smile intact.

His shirt and haori was a pile of ash around him, he was covered in lacerations and burns from head to foot; but he stood there like a rock, then he laughed.

"Damn kid! I haven't had this much fun since that spiky haired brat with orange hair came to visit the first time!" he opened his eyes and glared at me menacingly, "How about we finish this now."

I smiled ready for anything when I heard a scream. My face lost all color as I recognized the soft echo of Heiwa-Tekina Kagami's voice.

_Hiroshi, I can't stop him! I am so sorry_ her voice echoed in my head.

I forgot that only I could hear her, "What the hell are you talking about?" I yelled, panicked by the fear in her voice.

"Who are you talking to kid, no one said anything." Zaraki said.

_I'm sorry Hiroshi, he's past me now I'm so –_ she was cut off mid sentence.

I listened for a bit, completely forgetting my fight with Zaraki.

A deep echoing laughter sprung up from the depths of my soul, along with an image; an image of a white mask with blue lines in the shape of cat's face.

_Remember me kid?_ A voice like nails on chalkboard asked._ I think I'm going to take control now, see ya later._

I managed to get across one word before I was removed from consciousness; I looked at Sajin with tears in my eyes, "RUN!" I shouted. I crumpled and passed out, the last thing I saw was the look of worry and fear on Sajin's face.

***Change of View***

Sajin stared in horror as Hiroshi doubled over in pain, the last thing he said still ringing in his ears.

_Run. . . Run. . . Run. . . Run_ like a bad record with a scratch on it.

The member of the fourth squad ran toward Hiroshi, medical kit at the ready. They were halfway there when an echoing laughter filled the arena.

Sajin's ears perked up and even Zaraki's smile faltered. Every single shinigami knew that sound, most had nightmares about it for years. It was, unmistakably, the mirthless, crazed laughter of a hollow.

The member of the fourth division stopped where he was and stared as Hiroshi started to stand.

Hiroshi kept his head down and faced Zaraki; he raised one of his swords in question.

Zaraki smiled and shrugged, "Let's go!"

He charged and leapt into the air, aiming directly at Hiroshi's head.

Keeping his head down Hiroshi lifted his blade and caught Zaraki's strike an inch from his face.

Sajin knew something wasn't right; Hiroshi's entire demeanor had changed, he was a lot more predatory and feral.

"You little ant, you think you can touch me!" Hiroshi said, only his voice was different: more distorted, volatile, and overall just plain _WRONG!_

Zaraki looked at him, slightly put off by the change in attitude, "What no more honorable titles?"

Hiroshi finally looked up, "Not for shit like you!" He sneered.

Yachiru screamed as she saw the mangled mess of his face. A pulsing white mass had seeped from his eyes and mouth. His golden eyes had changed into a sickly yellow hue that spread throughout the entire eye.

Instinctively Sajin's hand went to Tenken's hilt, reflexively getting ready to slice a hollow in half; he had to remind himself that this was not a mindless beast, this was Hiroshi. _**HIS**_ Hiroshi.

Sajin stepped up and ran toward Hiroshi; he intercepted an attack coming from the body of his young lover.

"Hiroshi! Stop this foolishness!" Sajin yelled, hoping to get through.

The mask had spread to cover half of Hiroshi's face; Sajin realized that the mask was the same as the hollow from three years ago, the one that had started this whole ordeal.

Hiroshi faltered, his whole body seized up and he was still, as if in stasis.

A crack sounded out over the arena and suddenly a portion the mask turned to dust. Hiroshi's eyes returned to normal and he went limp.

Sajin caught him and stared, just then Hiroshi started to stir.

"Sajin, Sajin I'm so scared, please help me. It's the hollow from the beginning, he is taking over; HELP ME SAJIN!" Hiroshi screamed, tears running down the half of his face the mask hadn't covered.

Sajin's heart squeezed, Hiroshi was in agony and terrified and he had no idea what to do. He started to rub the back of Hiroshi's head gently, as if he were a newborn.

"I don't know how to help you; you have to fight it though. You mean too much for me to loose, just fight it. Fight tooth and nail and don't let go!" Sajin growled the last bit, terrified that he would be alone again. "Don't ever let go, not for him or anyone else! You can fight it; you graduated the academy in three years, you have mastered kidõ that shinigami don't even dream of, you beat an entire squad in a single afternoon, and most importantly you were the first one I could proudly show my appearance to. You are a strong person and this **will not** beat you!" Sajin nearly screamed the last bit, he had never shown that kind of emotion he had always made sure to be calm and poised. He couldn't let people's assumptions of him being an animal be right; but this was different, this was like someone pulling at every individual heartstring he had.

Hiroshi closed his eyes and brought his hand to the portion of the mask, "Get the fuck away from me!" He yelled, as he began ripping it away. With a flash of dark light the mask disappeared. Hiroshi slumped forward, unconscious.

***Change of view***

I opened my eyes and saw Sajin staring down at me.

I was about to ask what happened when I remembered what happened.

Tears started to fill my eyes and I cried, burying my face in Sajin's chest.

He held me close to him and whispered in my ear, "It'll be okay now, you're safe now."

I looked up at him trying not to start crying again; he cupped my cheek and gently kissed me, not caring that Zaraki was only a few feet away.

"I promise everything will be okay now." Sajin said after breaking the kiss.

"Well that's not something you see every day." Zaraki piped up.

Sajin whirled around and picked up Zaraki with one hand and used the other to hold Tenken at his throat, "IF YOU DARE SPEAK ABOUT THIS TO ANYONE I WILL RIP YOU LIMB FROM LIMB, STARTING WITH THAT TONGUE YOU LOVE TO USE SO MUCH!" Sajin growled in Zaraki's face, murder in his eyes.

Zaraki wasn't even faced, "I have no interest in your love affairs bastard wolf, I only care about the rush and adrenaline of fighting; this isn't even worth remembering." He said, looking bored.

Sajin put him down on the ground and came back to me.

Zaraki and Yachiru started walking off, "Thank you!" I called after Zaraki; he just shrugged and kept on going.

Sajin scooped me up in his arms and rushed me to the fourth division's barracks. We made it there in record time and Sajin burst in Calling for Captain Unohana.

She came immediately and saw me, the easy smile now gone from her face as she went straight to business. She asked what had happened in full detail, once Sajin got to the part of the mask spewing from my mouth she stopped him and took us to her office.

Ten minutes later I was sitting next to Sajin as Captain Unohana finished her analysis. She took a tissue sample and sent it to the 12th division for further diagnosis.

When all that was done she took a deep breath and began an explanation, "You both are aware that there are two ways to become a hollow correct?" she asked.

Sajin nodded, but I shook my head no, "I thought only those eaten by hollows became hollows themselves."

She smiled and nodded, "That is normally the case, yes; but there is a second process by which in can occur, this process is called Encroachment." She looked at me to make sure I was following, "Encroachment begins when the chain of fate is severed and a person dies, depending on the concentration of their reiryoku and reiatsu it can be as fast as 72 hours before the process is complete or it can take months or even years to complete; Encroachment is when the soul starts feeding on its own reserves in order to sustain itself in the world of the living, since there is next to no atmospheric reiatsu. A shinigami is immune to this effect for reasons we still have not determined; anyway, when this process is complete a soul becomes a hollow, no different from any other. I believe a slightly altered version of that same process is taking place within you." Despite the sweet smile of sympathy I received from her I still felt sick.

"I'm turning into a hollow?" I asked, breathless.

Sajin gripped my hand firmly in his for support.

Captain Unohana took note of this but didn't say anything; instead she answered my question, "Yes and no, normally you should turn into a hollow; but recently with the winter war a new fact came to light. Some shinigami were able to stop the progression. They called themselves visored, though they required the aid of the Hōgyoku created by Urahara. Your abilities probably let you adapt to Hollowfication before it can destroy you; but there is still a hollow inside of you, it will take control unless you can conquer it." Unohana finished explaining.

"So. . ." I started out, thinking carefully, "I'm turning into a hollow, only not completely yet; there is a hollow inside of me that is trying to take control and complete the Hollowfication, but killing me would kill it as well. I need to somehow conquer it or extract it from me." I finished letting out a sigh of exasperation. "So basically I'm royally fucked." I whispered under my breath, not knowing if the others could hear me.

Sajin gripped my hand again and smiled weakly at me, "It will be fine we will find a way to get you through this." He said gently.

"I find that hard to believe at the moment." I said.

"Don't be a pessimist." He joked.

I couldn't help but smile, "I'm not I'm being realistic." I replied, chuckling lightly at the role reversal. He chuckled as well.

"Actually, I may know a way that you can deal with the hollow." Unohana piped up.

I jumped at the chance, "Really?"

"Yes, there was a young man who was in a similar, if not exactly the same, situation you are in. I was able to talk to him and he informed me of a particular training he did to negate his hollow influence." Unohana informed.

"Are you referring to Kurosaki Ichigo?" Sajin asked.

"I am, he told me that he spent time with the visored and took care of his hollow side; Unfortunately, there is a very good chance that Hiroshi may die if this happens." Unohana said, the gentle smile gone from her features now.

I felt a pit form in my stomach, "What would I have to do?" I asked, fighting the bile rising in my throat.

"Hiroshi you don't have to do this, we could find another way." Sajin said, squeezing my hand even tighter.

I looked down at my now purple fingers and wanted to cry, "I need to get it out as soon as possible; you don't understand." I looked up at Sajin, "I was going to keep going until I killed him, and after that I would have just kept going and going until someone would kill me. I don't want to ever feel like that again." I jumped as something hit me, "That was exactly the way I felt when I was fighting Shinta."

I started to shake as I remembered what I had done and finally made the connection, this thing inside of me had a lot more influence than I knew. I thought back to the night of the party and remembered how I almost ripped that girl's arm off.

"We need to start right away." I said, on the verge of tears.

Captain Unohana looked understanding but confused.

"This thing has already taken control at least two other times." I explained, "every time its influence gets stronger and more violent. Next time I _will_ kill someone, I know it." I finished the last bit with an undying certainty.

"Very well then, we will begin it in a week; that will give me the time to gather who I will need." Unohana said already making a list of who to inform.

"Make sure you put Captain Kurotsuchi's name on that list." I whispered.

Captain Unohana nodded once and added another name before sending for a hell butterfly.

Sajin looked at me quizzically.

"As much as I hate the guy, he will probably be able to give us a more informed observation; not to mention, he would have no problem killing me if I were to lose control again." I told him.

Sajin looked concerned but said nothing as Captain Unohana gave me and him the all clear to leave, with specific instructions for me not to be near any stressful situations.

We nodded our thanks and started walking back to the seventh division's barracks.

***Change of View***

The hollow Hiroshi had heard the entire conversation and was now laughing to himself in the peaceful little world of Hiroshi's soul.

The little runt was going to come and play with him, "This could be fun!" He said to no one in particular.

"Who are you?" The woman asked again for the millionth time, he despised her and he already promised himself she would be one of the first to go after he obliterated Hiroshi Osamu.

"I told you before I am Hiroshi, his better part anyway." The hollow version replied to the unanswered question.

The woman let out a sigh and then retreated into the recesses of her little dwellings.

One week, he thought to himself, and then it would all be over.

He started laughing again, throwing his voice skyward in hope that the real Hiroshi would hear it.

"Don't keep me waiting too long." He said as he too vanished into the darkness that had begun to pool in the young man's soul.


	18. Questions of love

I stared, dead eyed, at the wall of Sajin's room. It had been six days since Sajin and I had arranged for Captain Unohana to help me. Without conscious thought I touched the right side of my face where the mask had formed. I kept probing, looking for some difference when there was none. No matter how many times I looked in the mirror or how many times I felt my cheek, it felt l was still wearing the mask. Sajin walked in at that moment and let out an exhausted sigh as he saw me going at it again.

"If you keep that up, you will rub your face raw." He said, sitting on the bed next to me. He took my hand from my face and gave a low grunt of disapproval as he saw the red mark that had manifested itself on my right cheek. He pulled out a tub of ointment and dabbed some onto his fingers before putting a small bit on my cheek. I winced as the burning was replaced with a frosty cool. Sajin just chuckled, "You only have yourself to blame, and you should just leave it alone."

"I know." I sighed, "It's just that. . . . It's just that I can't shake the feeling like I am still covered in that mass as it crept over my face. It was like being pulled into a quicksand with nothing around to grab onto but a thin rotten vine swaying just out of reach. If it wasn't for you Sajin I think I would have drowned into that pool of darkness and disappeared." I shivered as I remembered the feeling of complete helplessness as the mask and hollow inside me tried to claim my entire being.

Sajin put his arm around me gingerly, trying to comfort me. "You've been cooped up in here too long, why don't you go out and try and enjoy yourself for a bit; I will join you in a while, after I finish up the last of my paperwork, it should take three hours at most." He reasoned with me.

I figured that he was right and decided that I should give the man some peace, "Okay" I sighed, "I'll go find something to do to entertain myself until you finish." Sajin looked a little surprised by my willingness. So I explained, "I'm probably driving you crazy with all of my moping." Sajin looked like he was about to say something but just shook his head and reached into his pocket and handed me a small wad of money.

"Go have some fun, I promise to be along shortly." Sajin said and ruffled my head as we both got up to go about our days.

Sajin went back to his desk and sat down. I went to the bathroom real quick before I would go on my way.

I relieved myself and went to the sink to wash my hands; I looked up and was shocked at my reflection. I hadn't bothered to check it since I died really, needless to say that I couldn't break away from the clone staring back at me with empty golden, amber eyes.

The shadow in the mirror had sandy hair, more brown than blonde, that almost covered his eyes and reached well past his ears almost covering his neck it was unruly and a complete mess. The skin was a fair shade that suggested that he didn't get out much, the lips were full but set in a firm frown, sharp cheekbones jutted out drastically, the ears were pointed when the hair was pulled away from them, the teeth were white canine pearls set deep into the gums. I looked at the hands and saw that the nails ended in sharp black points, almost like French tips. I grunted in disgust and punched the mirror; the eyes were an empty aureate void that seemed to suck the life and vibrancy from the environment around them like a parasite, I thought of Sajin and realized he deserved better than to see that , "I am going to change, I refuse to let him see those eyes ever again." I said between clenched teeth.

I walked out of the bathroom to see Sajin sitting behind his desk, doing paperwork. I smirked to myself and snuck up behind him and planted a quick kiss on his jawline, not being able to reach any higher. He looked at me out of the corner of his eye and gave me a questioning look.

"It's been too damn gloomy lately." I explained with a smile.

Sajin was about to say something; but I interrupted him.

"See you tonight!" I laughed as I ran out in pursuit of two specific people, leaving a confused Sajin behind.

I walked around the Seireitei looking for Captain Kurotsuchi; I was grumbling to myself when I heard the distinct sound of tortured screams. I turned and found myself in front of the R&D building. A shiver coursed through my body as I heard the crazed laughter of Captain Kurotsuchi through an open window.

I started to think about my abilities and those of Heiwa-Tekina Kagami and I made my way to the center hoping for some answers. I knocked on the heave door and waited. The screams abruptly shut off and so did the laughter. I heard a series of steps and then the door opened up and a petite woman with purple hair held back in a ponytail answered the door.

"My name is Nemu, if you don't have an appointment with Master Mayuri I am going to have to ask you to leave the premises immediately." The woman said in a cool, emotionless voice.

"I wish to speak with Captain Kurotsuchi, my name is Hiroshi Osamu; we spoke a while ago and he told me to stop by sometime." I explained.

"Oh yes, Master Kurotsuchi mentioned you; come this way." Nemu said, just as devoid of emotion as before.

I followed her through an elaborate maze of corridors, hallways, and passages until we came upon a room with a giant computer docked at the center with a hunched figure sat in front of it with countless wires plugged into his head.

"Master Mayuri, Hiroshi Osamu is here." Nemu reported.

The man stopped what he was doing and turned around with a murderous grin plastered across his face, "Hello young man, I hope that this means you reconsidered my offer for modifications." Kurotsuchi chuckled.

I did my best not to shutter, "I'm afraid not, I was wondering if you had some answers for me."

"I have many answers boy; but information is not free, what do you have to offer me?" Kurotsuchi replied.

I thought for a second, "How about a tissue sample? I would also be willing to test out a few procedures for you if the information you provide is valid, how's that sound." I challenged him, knowing he probably wouldn't be able to resist.

"_If _my information is valid?" Kurotsuchi asked hotly, "Be careful who you insult boy!" He warned. He settled down a bit and brought his hands together in front of his face before continuing, "So what do you want to know?"

I thought about it a bit, "I guess I will start with, what's happening to me? I know that the Hollowfication has manifested and is taking control; but how?" I asked, framing my question carefully.

Kurotsuchi smiled, "That is quite the conundrum, a shinigami's power normally manifests at the same time as their Zanpakutõ; but yours blossomed before then went into a dormant state. The reason that they went dormant is because you hadn't trained properly beforehand, so you ended up using more than you should have been able to. They should have awakened when you arrived at soul society but once again you used too much energy so they had to 'recharge', if you will. The Hollowfication itself probably acted as a stimulus for your powers, if your powers were of a different brand, you would've turned into a hollow without a shadow of a doubt." He explained.

I looked down at my hand and thought about the next question I wanted to ask, "What exactly is my power? I can take things and fire them back; but it's not like I am reflecting them, it's different." I said more to myself than him.

Kurotsuchi's eyes widened and his grin spread even wider, "That is what makes you the perfect specimen!" he exclaimed, "Your powers are completely unique; they don't follow any specific path or element or ANYTHING!" He shouted, "You are taking in something and then making it your own, YOU WITH YOUR POWERS ARE EVOLUTION PERSONIFIED!" Kurotsuchi exclaimed, spit flying everywhere now as he continued his explanation, "You find things and you break them down to their base elements and then adapt it to suit you, if you trained some more or developed bankai you could probably do this without physiological stimuli!" Kurotsuchi seemed to sense how far off the handle he had flown and collected himself, "You will never stop adapting, you represent the existence of every species and reaction ever know and then some, that is also the reason I am so interested in you." He finished, finally sitting back down.

My head throbbed and I needed to go somewhere and process all that had been said. I stood up and excused myself before making my way to the door I looked over my shoulder and asked, "I suppose I will see you tomorrow than captain Kurotsuchi?"

Without looking I could practically feel the grin, "Not even the Captain-Commander himself could keep me away."

I walked out into the bright sunlight of the Seireitei and took in a deep calming breath. I was not sure how much of what he said I believed; but I went ahead and accepted it for now, seeing as that was the only opinion, or guess, that I had.

I walked to Squad 10's barracks and began asking around for Matsumoto. Someone finally told me I could find her at the Captain's office. I made my way to Captain Hitsuguya's office and knocked on the door.

"Come in." Hitsuguya's voice sounded through the thin wooden door. I opened the door and he looked up in slight annoyance before mild surprise took over his boyish features, "Oh Osamu, what are you doing here?" He asked.

"I was wondering if Lieutenant Matsumoto was available." I say I a carefully neutral tone.

Hitsugaya was about to say something when a very bored looking Matsumoto sat up and turned to face me, "Hi Hiroshi!" She said in a tone of pleasant surprise.

Hitsugaya looked between the two of us and decided not to inquire what I was asking his lieutenant for, "She can go if she finished her paperwork." He finally said already turning back to his own stack of forms.

Matsumoto was next to me in a blur and started pushing me out the door whispering, "Hurry before he changes his mind."

I remembered something and stopped in my tracks and turned to Captain Hitsugaya one more time, "One more thing captain, do you know what happened to Yamada? I haven't seen him since our co-operative test." I asked.

Hitsuguya's eyes narrowed slightly for a split second and then returned to normal, making me question if I had seen anything in the first place, "No I have not seen or heard of Yamada since the exercise." He replied and then buried himself back in his paperwork, making it apparent that I wasn't going to get anything else out of him. I turned back to Matsumoto and we left the room quickly.

*Change of View*

Hitsuguya sat back in his desk the second the door closed and the hurried footsteps of the two people faded from hearing.

He lifted his turquoise eyes to the ceiling and let out an exhausted sigh, "Damn you Aizen, even when you are locked into the very deepest part of Seireitei you still manage to cause pain and trouble for so many people; how do you do it?" he asked, his only response being the gentle stirring of the curtains in his office as an almost nonexistent breeze swirled around his office.

*Change of View*

Matsumoto and I stopped to catch our breath at the gates to the barracks and started to laugh a little, "So, what did you want?" She asked.

I stopped laughing and bit my lip nervously and tried to play it off like there was nothing, "I just wanted to hang out, and that's all."

Matsumoto's eyes narrowed ever so slightly as she studied me, "I don't appreciate being lied to." She said coldly.

I let out an exhausted sigh, "I need help." I finally conceded, avoiding her eyes.

Her eyes remained narrowed but she looked a little more understanding, "I need more than that." She said.

"My eyes," I mumbled, "I don't like how they look." I said and turned my face downward in embarrassment.

Matsumoto cupped my chin and forced me look at her, "Hmmm. . ." she started, a ghost of a smile gracing her features, "I see what you mean, those are some pretty nasty looking peepers!" She said.

"That's not what I meant." I said indignantly, unsuccessfully trying to suppress my chuckling.

"I know." She laughed, "It seemed like you just needed something to be happy about."

"I hate how empty they look, I just don't want Saj-" I cut myself off before saying anything else. I didn't want to slip up and mention Sajin's name since it could get him in some serious trouble. "I want to make sure someone special doesn't have to look at them anymore." I stopped there and tried hard to ignore the burning in my cheeks as a heavy blush covered my face and ears.

"Who is this someone special?" She asked, a vulpine grin on her face, "Anyone I know?"

My blush intensified further and I was sure I looked like a tomato by this point in time. "I'm pretty sure that you might know him." I said and then mentally slapped myself for saying him.

Matsumoto's eyes widened to the size of saucers, "HIM? YOU'RE GAY!" she screamed.

The extra attention was doing nothing for my blushing issue so I just hung my head, "Yes I'm gay." I muttered under my breath.

Matsumoto started to think for a minute, "You wouldn't be talking about Yumichika, would you?" She asked smirking.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"Guess not then, is he good looking?" She asked.

I laughed, "I certainly think so." I replied.

She laughed and began dragging me to some bar, "Let's play 20 questions!" She laughed.

"I thought we already were." I stated.

"True enough, is he tall?" she began again.

"Yes." I said, deciding to try using as few words as possible.

"Is he hyper or calm?"

"He's pretty collected."

"Hmmm. . . Is he a shinigami?"

"Yep."

"Is he ranked?" Matsumoto inquired.

"Yes." I replied.

"Is he a captain?" She tried.

"No more questions." I interjected; we were getting close to dangerous territory now.

"It's not Byakuya is it?" She asked going down the list of male captains

I turned to look at her with an eyebrow arched.

"Guess not." She joked.

We reached the bar and she walked over to the entrance dragging me behind her. We walked in to a small group of people as they left; they gave us a wide-berth as they saw the shihakushō we were wearing. She led us to a small booth and immediately ordered a huge jug of Nihonshu. (Nihonshu = Sake, a rice based alcoholic beverage similar to wine).

She took a nice, long swig and let out a sigh, a rose colored blush covering her cheeks, "Let's start again." She said smiling.

I shrugged my shoulders and asked the waitress for some Ramune as Matsumoto began her new torrent of questions.

"Is he a cut loose and drink up kind of guy?" she asked.

I tried to think about Sajin drunk and laughing out loud but couldn't picture it, "Not at all." I say laughing.

"Uktitake?" She guessed.

I didn't say anything, but thanked the waitress for the cool soda.

"Kurotsuchi?" she tried again.

I sputtered and choked on my drink, "God no!" I yelled, a little too loudly.

She laughed and started to thump her hand and began to think. A devious smile spread across her face, "Is it your captain?" She asked.

I slipped my gaze and drank my Ramune quietly.

"You are in love with captain Komamura!" She screamed in wicked glee.

"You're drunk." I blushed, still avoiding eye contact.

Matsumoto laughed, "Honey, I haven't even started yet."

"Please don't start saying anything Lieutenant Matsumoto." I pleaded.

She seemed irked, "Listen Hiroshi, you've seen me drunk stupid and you are a 3rd seat; I'll drop the thing if you drop the formalities, call me Rangiku."

I smiled, "Okay. . . Rangiku."

She smiled and then grew serious, "Does he know?"

I looked around and decided to go for broke, "Yes, he knows. He feels the same way as I do." I replied sheepishly.

She grinned in delight and gave a little squeal. "I can't wait to tell the Shinigami Women's Association."

I looked at her pleadingly, "Please don't Rangiku, it would be bad if it caused a stir; Sajin and I want to keep it down as much as possible for a while."

She looked at me closely and seemed to stare right through me, "You guys are really close. . . . . . Hmmm, OH!" she screamed and covered her mouth in an attempt to smother her laughter.

I cocked my head to the side, "What is it?"

She leaned toward me and whispered in my ear, "Have you guys had sex yet?"

I swear the infernos of hell broke loose across my face; of course thinking about it caused me to pitch a tent doing nothing for the blushing problem.

She laughed again and held her sides as she started to roll laughing, "This is too much!" She laughed.

"You don't need to laugh about it." I said, burning with embarrassment and defensiveness of mine and Sajin's love.

She seemed to sense my barely concealed anger and tried to amend, "It's not that, it's just that I don't think _anyone_ would have guessed that captain Komamura swung for that team."

A picture of Sajin wearing a flamboyantly gay pink kimono and talking in a high pitched voice entered my head and I laughed hard enough to split my sides. "Okay so I see your point; honestly, I don't think that I would believe it either."

Rangiku gave me a look that said 'you see?'

She opened her mouth to say something else, but I cut her off.

"If you ask me how good in the sack he is or if he's big I'm going to leave." I say already standing up.

Rangiku downed the rest of the Nihonshu and left a generous tip on the counter as she stood up and we walked out. I followed behind her closely and we talked about idle things: How was the other doing, bagging on fellow shinigami, and talking about what irritated us.

I looked up towards the sky and started, the sun had started to sink from the sky like a slowly deflating balloon.

I looked towards Rangiku and smiled, "Thanks Rangiku, I really needed the distraction. I've been having a bad week."

She looked over her shoulder and waved it off, "You can just buy me a drink sometime." She offered.

"Sounds fair enough!" I yelled as I start to run off toward the barracks. "See you later."

I made it to Sajin's office a couple of minutes later and caught my breath as I waited for him to finish up his day's work. Ten minutes later Sajin's door opened and the man himself came out and stretched out, basking in the sun's warmth. He noticed me sitting by the door and offered me a hand up.

I took it and stood next to him as he put an arm around my shoulder gently.

I looked up and smiled, "So what do you have planned?"

Sajin did a quick survey to make sure that no one was around and placed a quick kiss on my forehead. "I was thinking of a nice, quiet spot not too far from here. How's that sound?" He whispered into my ear.

"It sounds amazing." I breathed quietly, "when do we go?" I asked.

"Whenever you're ready." He replied simply, yet sweetly.

"I've been ready for quite a while." I whispered, pressing my body against his.

I traced the fingers of his hand idly while he crouched low and scooped me up bridal style and shunpoed us away from the Barracks and the Seireitei.

I closed my eyes and listened to the steady _thump thumping_ of his heart as he put miles of landscape between us and the rest of the Soul Society. The rhythm of Sajin's heart and the sounds of the world moving around us reminded me of a song that my mother used to sing to my sisters when they were young; I started to hum under my breath.

*play Eluveitie by Omnos*

I wasn't aware that we had stopped until Sajin gently nipped at my ear and sat me down on the ground.

I opened my eyes and saw that I was beneath a giant Sakura tree in mid-bloom. The leaves were a rich velvety green, while the blooms were light pinks, purples, and violets that danced with along with the very winds. The sun had begun to set, but not to the extent that the azure hue of the sky were to be affected. The bark was a rich earthy brown that was firm, yet slightly yielding to the touch as it was saturated with the water of a recent rainfall. I backed myself into the trunk and sat with my arms slung over my knees as I took in the beauty of the entire area.

"This place is unreal." I whisper in awe, "How is it that you manage to find these places Sajin; first the clearing from our first night together and now this!"

Sajin just chuckled, "I used to wander Soul Society in my earlier days before I joined the Gotei 13, I found a good many places as I looked for a place to rest and think. I remembered this place after you left today and thought you would like to see it." He finished his explanation and stretched out, looking over everything around us.

I started to think about what he said and suddenly it felt like I was being crushed by an invisible force.

A voice started to echo in my head, "I don't suppose you think that this is weird, do you?"

I wasn't really paying attention and assumed the voice was Heiwa-Tekina Kagami, "Why would I? He wanted to show me something beautiful from his life before." I replied in my head.

The voice laughed without mirth, "Exactly! His life BEFORE, what do you really know about him? You have known him for a little over three weeks and you have already let the guy in your pants!" The voice mocked me.

I startled and felt something inside of me start to break and my breath began to leave with more force than it was coming in. The voice had a point, I had let a complete **stranger** into my life without hesitation; a man I didn't even know in full had slept with me and taken my virginity. I had been too wrapped up in this to really notice; but now I realized I had been acting on teenage hormones and lust. I started to tremble and I felt sick.

The voice was back, "Don't you see? You acted like a piece of trash; this guy could just leave you at a moment's notice. He may have said that he loved you, but words are cheap. You are probably just a little toy for him to play with." The voice seemed to pause and then resumed with a dark chuckle, "That is, until tomorrow when you will cease to exist as I claim every part of your existence."

I nearly retched as I realized that the voice belonged to the poison that was spreading through my entire being, "How do I know you aren't just trying to mess with me?" I said in my head, trying to get a grip on something as I started to spiral down into a black pit of despair.

"I'm a part of you dumbass, if some bit of you didn't believe it I wouldn't be able to use it against you like this." It laughed again.

"Leave him alone!" A hard voice drifted into my consciousness, this one belonging to Kagami. The poison in my mind seemed to fade away but its work was already done, "Hiroshi don't listen to him, he is a parasite that is trying to break you down in any way he can so that he can erase you. You can't let him do that to you." Kagami said her voice back to the calm sympathetic voice that Hiroshi remembered.

"Thank you Kagami; but can you just leave me alone for now? I will be sure to let you know if I need you." I ask.

She seemed reluctant to do so; but finally it was just me and Sajin left alone.

A tear like acid ran down my cheek followed by another and another, until they rolled freely down my face to make nearly silent _plop_ against the fabric of my pants.

I felt more than saw Sajin's shadow tower over me before a gentle paw rested against my shoulder.

I flinched away from it and tried to bury myself into the bark of the tree behind me.

Sajin pulled his hand back and sat on his haunches in front of me, "Hiroshi, what's the matter?"

My body felt like it was made of lead as I raised my head inch by agonizing inch. I looked into his eyes and tried to find some assurance that the Hollow was wrong about Sajin. His eyes were filled with worry as he stared at me.

"Remember when you said you loved me?" I asked trying to keep my voice steady.

Sajin nodded his confirmation.

"Why did you say that?" I inquired.

Sajin seemed confused and answered the best he could, "Because I do."

"Why?" I continued.

Sajin thought a bit, "Because, you were the first one who saw me for me and not as someone else. I wasn't a captain or a monster. I was a person who saved your life and helped you get better."

"But I don't even know you, and you don't know me." I whimpered.

Sajin seemed to grasp what was going through my mind and sighed, "It's true that I don't know you; I don't know your favorite color, food, activity, or anything and you don't know mine."

With each word it felt like someone had shoved another searing iron into my heart.

"But," He began again, "I know you are a kind person who thinks of others before himself, you see things in people that others don't and cares about them. You could care less what people were to think or say or do to you; but if that person dares to speak or act against another you would be there in a second and sort them out."

"Why do you stay with me? How do I know that if I were to close my eyes right now that you will still be there when I open them again?" I asked my last question. The tears had stopped and I just felt numb and cold all over.

Sajin looked at me and stared into the very depths of my soul, like he could see my doubts and worries and my hopes and dreams. He looked a bit longer and then let out a sigh, "You can't know that."

My very last pillar that connected me to reality began to crumble away into dust.

"You can't know that." Sajin said again, "As a shinigami we both could disappear in an instant because something could kill us and wipe us from existence, even captains are at risk; but I can promise you right now that as long as we both draw breath that I will be at your side." He reached down and fished around in his pocket and pulled out the mirror I had given him three years ago. He held it up to me so that I could see my face in it, I was a wreck with blood shot eyes and tear tracks running down my face, "You have been marked by me, even if it was an accident you are a part of me and I am a part of you. The bond we have is stronger than empty vows shared under an arch or sex, our bond is as physical as it is spiritual. I swear to you that we will always be together." He finished with conviction in his voice.

I looked up at him and had to fight down the tears that threatened to spill over again. I flung my arms around him and hugged him tight. He wrapped his arms around my torso and pulled me close. Once again I could hear his heart beating and I was wrapped in a feeling of warmth and comfort as his heart beat in synch with mine. I let go of him and he reluctantly did so as well and I returned to my spot beneath the tree with my head bowed a little.

He stood there for a bit and just stared at me before coming up next to me and sitting. He picked me up and gently placed me in his lap as he rested his chin on top of my head and wrapped his arms snuggly around me. I smiled and leaned into his touch as I finally felt the drain of the last couple of minutes.

"I have really stopped getting so worked up all the time," I groaned, "I will end up sleeping all the time if I keep this up."

Sajin chuckled, "I don't mind, you look so peaceful when you sleep."

I was about to say something but realized that my eyelids had grown heavy and I leaned back into his embrace as I slipped into a calm, deep sleep.

* * *

><p>I know this chapter was one of those cliche things; but i felt that it was necessary. (What's love without a bit of drama?) I know i haven't updated in a while and i apologize for that. Christmas and family dramas have been taking up a lot of my time and this chapter was rewritten seven times because i didn't like the way it turned out and truth be told i still am not happy with some of it. The next chapter should be easier to write but probably no where near as long as this one. I hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review on your way out. I love being told about what people think. I am probably going to work on something new so i have something to do and i want to know what you guys think i should do, i will have a poll up. If you have an idea feel free to tell me because i love knowing what you guys think. Anyway just going to let you know that the next update won't be for a while.<p>

P.S,

On a story related note i may write more than what i have told you before depending on what you guys think. Let me know if you think it should keep going or if you are satisfied.

Thanks as always,

Ryubarra


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